Been Here All Along
by halfcrazyfordaisy
Summary: *Permanent hiatus. I feel bad about this, but I just don't have the motivation or inspiration to finish this story, especially after the show was cancelled. I have very limited time to write thanks to a very busy schedule, and I'd like to focus my energy elsewhere. To anyone who was reading, I'm sorry, truly. It's unlikely I'll come back to this, but I'll leave it here just in case
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, first things first. This is the first fanfiction I've written in longer than I'm willing to admit, so I apologize if it's clunky. I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing and what better way than with the cutest ship out there right now? :)

So, thank you if you take the time to read this and any reviews (constructive criticism is welcomed, but try to take it easy on me, please) would make my day. Even if no one reads, I'll probably finish it out because this story has been knocking around in my head for a few weeks now.

Disclaimer: I do not own GMW. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfic about it.

"Riles, come on," Maya groaned, shivering. "It's freezing!" She tugged her red peacoat tighter around her shoulders, shooting an annoyed frown at her best friend.

Riley Matthews, her very best friend in the entire world, who was currently staring into a bakery window with heart eyes, nearly drooling over the cookies and cakes visible through the frosted glass. Riley seemed not to hear her.

"Riley!" Maya moved until she was between Riley and the window, trying to recapture her attention. This failed, because Maya had never grown taller than five feet (and three quarters of an inch, thank you very much) but Riley had shot up in high school to a statuesque five foot eight. Maya reached up and snapped her fingers in Riley's face.

"Huh? Oh," Riley grinned sheepishly, coming back to earth and looking down at her friend. "Sorry, Maya. You know I can't resist all the pretty Christmas cookies and cupcakes and-"

"Riley, your mother owns a bakery. Have you forgotten? You can get all those pretty little cookies, for free, anytime you want. Can we please get back to business?" Maya rubbed her gloved hands on her pink cheeks, trying to force some warmth back into her body. She wasn't having much luck.

Riley finally turned her attention from the bakery back to the sidewalk they were standing on. It was Christmastime in New York, and nothing was more beautiful. The light dusting of snow on the trees, the pops of color in the crowds of people donning their winter coats, hastily trying to finish their Christmas shopping. The girls were doing the same, only a few things left to buy. Riley had all of her shopping done weeks ago, of course. Maya was the procrastinator, as usual. She had worked her way down her list throughout the day, and was almost done. But the sun was losing steam, casting a weak, late afternoon glow on the city. And it was freezing. Beautiful, yes. But freezing.

They started walking again, which was made slightly difficult due to the sheer volume of people walking with and against them. They were quiet for a few minutes until Riley spoke up.

"What are you getting for Josh?"

"Oh, uh…" Maya trailed off into a cough that did absolutely nothing to convince her friend. After a moment of trying to pull something out of her ass, she sighed. "I have no idea."

Riley's eyebrows shot up as she shot a sideways look at Maya. "What do you mean? You do know Christmas is in, like, five days, right?"

"WHAT?!" Maya exclaimed, grabbing the sides of her face as she sarcastically dropped her mouth open. "Oh my god, Riley, is that why there are lights and snowflakes and Christmas trees and little gingerbread men everywhere?" She clutched at her heart, feigning gasping for breath. "Oh, thank goodness you told me. I would never have figured it out."

"Har har," Riley rolled her eyes, a small smile on her lips. "Nice try, but deflection doesn't work with me. You really have no idea what to get him?"

Maya sighed. Take her back to middle school, hell, even high school, and tell her that one day she'll have gift-giving anxiety over finding the perfect present for her boyfriend and she would've laughed. Maya Hart? Perpetually too cool for school, doesn't care about anything Maya Hart, stressing over what gift to give to a boy? No way. But add in that the boyfriend in question is, in fact, Uncle Boing himself, Riley's uncle Josh, and her answer may be slightly different.

They had started dating almost exactly a year prior, around Christmastime of Riley and Maya's sophomore year in college at NYU. Josh had graduated a year earlier and gotten a job with a large media company in the city. Maya still wasn't entirely sure what exactly he did, but she knew he was good at it. They had run into each other for Christmas dinner with the Matthews, and things were different this time. She had long outgrown her childish crush she'd had in middle school, and had even had a couple somewhat serious boyfriends, so she no longer acted like a crazy person around him. Apparently, he'd found that intriguing and had asked her out a few days later. The rest, as they say, is history.

"No," she finally replied, defeated. "I really have absolutely no idea."

"Okay, let's try an easier one and we'll work our way back to Josh."

Maya smiled at Riley. The eternal optimist. Of course she had a plan. It really was too bad her plan was already doomed.

"The only person left on my list is Lucas, who I also don't know what to buy."

"Ooh, what'd you get me?"

"Right," Maya snorted. "Like I'm going to tell y-"

"You there!" Maya was interrupted by Santa Claus. Or, rather, a stocky man in his thirties dressed as Santa, holding a microphone. A cameraman was behind him, filming the encounter. He had placed himself directly in front of the two girls, halting their search. He let out a hearty 'ho-ho-ho' and turned to face Maya. "What's your name, young lady?"

"Young lady?" She scoffed. She knew she was short, but at some point she expected people to instinctively know her age range, like they did with Riley. "What's YOUR name, old man?"

"Kris Kringle," the man deadpanned, dropping his Santa persona. Then he broke out into a dazzling smile. "We're from WQNB Channel 7 News, and we're out here today trying to grant Christmas wishes. So, what's your name?"

She hesitated, casting a wary glance at Riley, who shrugged in response. "Maya."

"Oh-ho-ho, Maya!" He slipped back into his role. "What would you like for Christmas?"

Maya pondered for a second. "I'd like to know what to get my boyfriend and my best guy friend for Christmas, because it's almost here and I'm at a total loss."

"Oh, boy, that is a tough one. But I may be able to help you."

"Really?" Maya's eyes widened. "How?"

"Is your boyfriend a sports fan?"

"Um, sort of," Maya chewed her lip. Josh liked basketball, sometimes college football, but she wouldn't call him a fanatic. Lucas, on the other hand… "Yeah, yeah he likes sports."

"Here's the deal Maya," Santa squared his stance, pulling out an index card from his pocket. "If you can answer this sports trivia question correctly, I'll give you two tickets to the New York Giants' last home game of this season. Think you can do it?"

Maya feigned nervousness. Lucas was going to school for journalism, specifically sports journalism. He was constantly watching ESPN and other sports shows, and as his roommate, Maya too was pretty up to date with the sports world. But she didn't want to give away too much confidence.

She smiled innocently. "I can try!"

"Alright, here we go. Maya, can you tell me what number is on the jersey of the Giants' star wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr?"

Maya tried not to laugh in this guy's face. Was he serious? That had to be the easiest sports trivia question she could've possibly gotten. She wondered if he was taking it easy on her because she was a girl, and had to tamp down her urge to get defensive. This was her chance to win tickets to see her favorite football team, right here in New York. She really hoped this wasn't a hoax.

"Maya?" The man questioned, holding the microphone in front of her face. "Do you have an answer for us?"

Maya hesitated another few seconds before breaking into a brilliant smile. "Odell Beckham Jr is my favorite player. You could've at least tried to challenge me. But to answer your question, he wears the number thirteen."

The news anchor was visibly surprised by her confident answer, before collecting himself and returning her smile.

"Congratulations, Maya!" He reached into his pocket again and this time pulled out an envelope, handing it to her. "You girls have a merry Christmas! Ho-ho-hoooo!"

As the anchor and cameraman walked away, Maya looked at Riley incredulously.

"Can you believe that just happened?!" Maya couldn't hide her excitement as she pulled the tickets out of the envelope and inspected them. They looked legitimate. And they were really, _really_ good seats.

"Huh," Riley looked down at the tickets over Maya's shoulder. "I guess Christmas miracles do happen, Maya. Now you have something to give to Josh!"

Maya made a face. "I'm not sure Josh would want to go to a football game in the middle of winter. He's not even that big of a football fan." Maya looked down at the tickets again and something jumped out at her. She gasped. "Riley, the Giants' last game of the season is against the Cowboys."

"Do you know what this means?" Riley squealed.

"Well, I do," Maya said bluntly. "I'm just frankly a bit surprised that you do, too."

"Scratch Lucas off your Christmas list, Maya," Riley singsonged, smiling smugly. Wait, smugly? Maya peered into her friend's face… Yep, that was definitely a superior, smug look. But why?

"Aww, do I get a lump of coal this year?" Lucas Friar's voice startled Riley and Maya as they both whirled around. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a sweet smile lighting up his handsome features. He had been a cute kid in middle and high school, but the manhood that came along with college suited him _very_ well. The black heavy coat he wore didn't do much to hide his impressive physique, a result of a disciplined gym regimen. His light brown hair was sticking up in odd places, presumably from the chilly wind that whipped through the city occasionally. Maya hastily shoved the tickets into her coat pocket, trying to look innocent.

"Lucas," she attempted to sound nonchalant, but cringed upon hearing the high-pitched tone of her own voice. "What are you doing here?"

Another familiar voice piped up as Farkle Minkus stepped out from behind Lucas. He had grown quite tall, one of the few people Riley had to look up to, but he was still slender and was easily hidden by Lucas. "Just some last minute shopping, like you guys."

Riley's face softened the second she saw Farkle, reaching out and pulling him into a hug. She pulled back and pecked him sweetly on the lips, and they were lost in each other's eyes for a moment until Lucas cleared his throat. He looked at Maya, green eyes twinkling.

"So why am I not on your Christmas list, Maya? I put up with your singing-"

"I am a great singer,"

"-your art supplies and clothes all over the apartment-"

"I'm creative! Creative people are messy."

"-and your snoring-"

"I do NOT snore!"

"Oh you most certainly do," Lucas was chuckling now. He could never resist a chance to push her buttons. Riley shot Maya an apologetic look.

"You do, Peaches." Maya raised an eyebrow at Riley, who quickly added, "But it's the cutest snoring in the whole entire world!"

"And you can't even buy me a Christmas present?" Lucas finally finished his question, his eyes and mouth turned down in an adorable, though fake, pout. Maya narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nice try, Huckleberry, but you're gonna have to do better than that. And for the record, no," She turned her glare into a wide smile, batting her eyes at him. "I didn't _buy_ you anything."

Lucas held his hand to his heart, casting his eyes to the ground, looking every bit the part of a sad puppy.

"I see.. how little our friendship means to you, Maya." He sighed, looking down at one of the bags he was holding. "I guess I should take this present back to the store…"

"Wait wait wait!" Riley jumped between the two, throwing her hands out.

"Riley, I'm not really going to take her present back-"

"I know, I know!" Riley spoke quickly and urgently, looking at each of them in turn. "But I just realized that we're not all going to be together on Christmas morning."

Lucas and Maya shared a look of raised eyebrows. Maya put her hand on Riley's shoulder, using the soft voice she reserved for when Riley needed to be talked down from something.

"What are you getting at, Honey?"

Riley stood up straight, clasping her hands in front of herself and beaming around at all of them. "We need to have a Christmas party." She spoke matter-of-factly, a giddy look of excitement taking over her features. "Where we can all give each other our gifts at the same time, just like a family."

Maya, Lucas and Farkle looked at each other in turn, each making a 'not bad' face and nodding.

"Okay," said Farkle, wrapping an arm around Riley's waist and pulling her closer to him. "When? We're cutting it a little close already. Christmas is in five days."

"Tomorrow!" Riley slapped her hand lightly against Farkle's chest, and Maya could see the wheels turning in her head. Oh, boy. This day was about to get a lot longer. The sun was beginning to set now, and the temperature would drop significantly, and quickly. "At Maya and Lucas's apartment, of course."

"Of course," Lucas snorted. "Well, if we're hosting a party, then we need to clean. Desperately."

"Okay," Riley stood up straight again. She pointed to Lucas and Farkle. "You two should head back there now and start cleaning. Maya and I will stay and pick up all the supplies we need."

Lucas saluted Riley sarcastically. "Yes ma'am."

Maya groaned. "What supplies do we need? We have an apartment, beer, there's a pizza place right down the road-"

"Maya!" Riley sounded shocked. "It's a _Christmas_ party. You need Christmas decorations… and a tree!"

Riley gave Farkle a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing Maya's forearm and beginning to drag her down the street away from the boys. Maya looked back helplessly as Farkle and Lucas just grinned at her, waving.

"Pick up some dinner, too!" Maya shouted back at the boys, hoping they had heard her. "This better not take too long, Riles," she huffed, falling into step beside her. "I'm starving."

A few hours later, the four friends were gathered around the coffee table in the living room. Pizza boxes sat empty on the table as they all leaned back into their seats, their hands resting on their full stomachs. Maya sighed contentedly, picking up her phone to text Josh.

 **M:** So Riley decided to plan a Christmas party.. tomorrow.. at my apartment. Help

She set her phone down to wait for his reply. Josh worked a lot, and was very easily distracted. It would probably take a while for him to get back to her.

"So," she said, breaking their food coma silence. "Now what?"

"Well," Riley began, but she was interrupted by a yawn. She looked at the clock. "Oh my gosh, Farkle, it's already eight-thirty."

"Someone call the bedtime police," Lucas deadpanned, glancing at his phone. Maya giggled.

"Better get Farkle home and put him on the charger before his battery dies," she joked. Lucas met her eyes and they snickered, wholly amused that their twenty-one year old friends still went to sleep well before midnight, every night.

"Hey," Farkle protested, standing up and stretching. "I'm a real boy!"

"Sure, Farkle," Maya replied, glancing at her phone. Nothing yet. "We've all seen your birth certificate.."

"Fake!" Lucas fake coughed, sending Maya and himself into a new fit of giggles.

"Okay," Riley yawned again, following her boyfriend's lead and standing up. "You're both clearly delirious and could use some sleep too. I'll be back bright and early to help put up these decorations," she gestured to the boxed fake Christmas tree and several bags surrounding it on the floor.

"Bright and early? Why bright and early?" Lucas looked alarmed. "It's Christmas break, can't you at least wait until it's bright and, oh I don't know, noon?"

Riley rolled her eyes as Farkle helped her into her coat. "We still have a lot to do tomorrow to get ready for the party, Lucas. So no, I'll be here in the morning-"

"-with coffee." Maya interjected. "And breakfast from Topanga's." Riley smiled back at her.

"With coffee and breakfast. And we'll get this show on the road!" She pumped her fist. Maya and Lucas laughed again as Farkle looked at Riley lovingly. Riley pointed a finger at them. "So don't stay up late. I will make you regret it."

"We know," Lucas and Maya responded earnestly and in unison.

Riley blew them both kisses as she led Farkle out of the living room and to the kitchen, where their front door was located. When they heard the door slam shut, Maya stood up slowly and stretched her arms over her head, an unexpected yawn escaping her lips. Lucas looked up at her from his seat on the couch, eyebrows raised.

"Are you actually tired right now?" He asked, surprised.

Maya shrugged in response. "Riley wore me out today. She ran me all over the city trying to help me get my shopping done."

"And did you?"

"Yeah, mostly…" Maya trailed off, biting her lip in concern. She still had nothing to give to Josh. As if on cue, her phone buzzed on the table.

 **J:** Lol, typical Riley. Did you guys have a good day?

Maya quickly typed back a response.

 **M:** Yeah, it was ok. Got almost all my shopping done

Josh must've been taking a break because his answer came swiftly.

 **J:** Almost? Who do you have left?

Maya hesitated. She was at the end of her rope trying to find the perfect gift for Josh. She wished she could just ask him…

A lightbulb turned on in her head.

 **M:** You. You're the hardest person to buy for. Please, have mercy and just tell me something to buy you!

He took his time replying this time. After waiting a few minutes, Maya sighed and set her phone back on the table, turning around and heading to her room. She changed out of her skinny jeans and sweater, pulling on her favorite red flannel pajama pants and a black tank top before heading back to the living room and plopping onto the couch next to Lucas. She checked her phone. No new messages. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, slight concern on his features.

"Nothing," she replied, playing with the ends of her hair. "I just don't know what to get Josh for Christmas. And I'm running out of time."

"That's all?" Lucas scoffed. "Maya, he's a guy."

Maya blinked. "And?"

Lucas sighed theatrically. " _And_ it's pretty easy to figure out what any guy wants, for any gift, ever." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, grinning cheekily.

Maya laughed, playfully nudging his shoulder with her own. Before she could reply, her phone buzzed again.

 **J:** Maya, I really don't need anything for Christmas. And before you start to argue, I mean it. There's nothing you could get me, that I need, that I don't already have. Plus, I have you. And that's the best gift of all.

Maya smiled, feeling like a weight lifted off her shoulders. Her euphoric moment was ruined when Lucas made a fake vomiting sound next to her ear. He had read the text over her shoulder.

"Ugh, give me a break," Lucas said, standing up and heading over to their TV. "You don't really fall for that crap, do you?"

"It's not crap," Maya replied indignantly, though a light blush crept across her cheekbones. "He's sweet."

"Uh-huh," He crouched down next to their shelf of DVDs. "Anyway, what movie do you want to watch?"

"I don't care," Maya replied, sending a heart eyes emoji back to

Josh.

"Okay," Lucas pulled out a DVD. "The Expendables it is, then."

"No, wait," She threw out her hands as if to physically stop Lucas from across the room. He grinned at her and held up the movie in his hands. She returned the smile, reading the title.

"Pitch Perfect 2. How'd you know?"

"You have the soundtrack on repeat most of the time," Lucas replied, putting the movie into the DVD player and resuming his spot next to her on the couch. "Plus, I heard you trying to beatbox in the shower."

Maya gave him a playful shove, laughing. They settled in to watch the movie. Maya curled up on her side, propping her head up with her hand. Lucas alternated between checking sports news on his phone and watching the movie, all the while listening to Maya sing along to every song.

But they were both more tired than they were willing to admit, and neither one made it to the end of the movie, nor to their respective bedrooms. They fell asleep on the couch, Maya's arm now under her head and Lucas's head against Maya's thigh. Her free arm was resting between his shoulder blades, and one of his arms was wrapped around her shins. The other was stretched above him, behind her back, fingers tangled in her messy blonde waves. To a stranger, they looked like the perfect couple, their breathing even and their expressions peaceful.

But that was just Lucas and Maya.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: First off, to those of you who read and reviewed/followed/favorited, thank you so ridiculously much. To have any kind of feedback after not writing for so long was amazing, and you guys were all so nice. So thank you again. This is a hard habit to pick back up but I'm giving the second chapter a go. I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: Obviously do not own GMW. Am I actually legally required to say this? Serious question.

"Hello? Maya? Lucas?" Riley lightly kicked the door to her best friend's apartment for the third time, sighing. "Anyone?"

Giving up, she bent down to set the bag of bagels and pastries from her mother's bakery on the floor. She reached into her purse and fished out her keys, balancing a drink tray full of coffee in her other hand. She slid the key into the lock and let herself in.

The apartment was eerily quiet, save for a soft repetitive noise from the living room. Riley set their breakfast on the counter and walked out to the hallway. She checked Maya's room first. It was messy, like always, and the bed was rumpled, but Maya wasn't in it. Frowning, she walked a few steps down the short hall and found Lucas's door open. She peeked inside, but Lucas's room was empty too, though it was much more organized. It smelled nice, too, which was a plus.

Riley turned on her heel and walked down to the living room, where she found two things that made her smile like a goof. First, the main menu of Pitch Perfect 2 was repeating itself on the TV, and Riley loved that movie. She especially loved to watch that movie with Maya and dance along and sing all the songs. But second, she got to see her two best friends in one of their (many, _many_ ) adorable but absolutely real moments they found themselves in every day.

They were completely passed out, mouths open and drool puddles under both of their chins. But they were cuddled together in a position that looked awkward at first, but made more sense the longer Riley looked at them. She could just see them watching the movie and slowly melting further into the couch, using each other for comfort as they ran out of space. And they were still dead asleep.

Quickly, Riley pulled her phone out of the pocket of her coat and snapped a picture. She slipped it back into her pocket and stood up straight. Play time was over.

"Alright, you two," Riley near yelled, clapping her hands together loudly. "Time to decorate!"

Lucas jumped up so fast Riley flinched a little, startled. He stumbled slightly and threw his hands out to steady himself, a bewildered look on his face as he attempted to focus his eyes on Riley. After a few seconds, he managed.

"Holy hell!" He exhaled harshly and fell back into a sitting position on the couch where Maya had yet to move a muscle. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and looked curiously at Riley. "Is that how you always wake her up?"

Riley laughed and shook her head. "Oh no. She'd sleep through an alien invasion. I have to put in a little more effort with Maya."

She wedged herself roughly into the space between Lucas and Maya and grabbed the blonde girl's shoulders, shaking them roughly. "Maaaayyaaaaaa! Get up! Time to decorate for the party!"

"Uuuummmppf," Maya groaned, pushing her face into the couch and refusing to open her eyes. "There's no way it's time to get up already."

"Rise and shine, Peaches," Riley continued mercilessly. She had stopped shaking Maya but her volume hadn't changed a bit. "It's actually already ten so I let you sleep in. Up up up!"

Maya made another disgruntled noise and slowly sat up, blinking at the brightness in the room. She began to stretch her arms over her head, but suddenly frowned in the direction of her leg. "Why is my leg wet?"

Lucas turned to look at Maya and realization took over his features as his hand flew to his chin. His cheeks flushed slightly. "Sorry,"

"Look Huckleberry, I know you think I'm hot but get a hold of yourself," She laughed, lifting up a hand to point at him. "You literally _drooled_ over me."

"Technically, I drooled on you. And by the way, you've got something right here-" He reached over and wiped her chin with his thumb, grinning cheekily at her and wiping his thumb on his pants. Her jaw dropped. "You snore _and_ you drool."

"I-"

"Oookay," Riley cut Maya off and sat up so she was physically between the two. She held her hands up to separate them. "You both drool. And you both have morning breath so would you please go into the kitchen and have some breakfast?"

Lucas jumped up and dashed to the kitchen as Maya turned her sleepy blue eyes on Riley, her interest peaked.

"Did you bring coffee?"

"Of course I brought coffee."

"What kind?"

"S'mores latte, obviously."

"Marry me."

"We're already married. Go!" Riley shooed Maya off the couch and into the kitchen.

Lucas and Maya scarfed the Danishes and bagels that Riley had brought, downing the coffee just as quickly. When they'd had their fill, the pair of them headed to the bathroom to brush their teeth and, in Maya's case, tame her wild hair. Mouths full of foamy toothpaste, they silently fought over which one got to use the sink first. It ended when Lucas threatened to spit his toothpaste into her hair. Maya took the opportunity to spit into the sink and turned to him.

"If you spit _anything_ in my hair, all that means is I get to take a nice, hot, relaxing shower while you help Riley decorate the entire apartment."

Lucas spat. "Touche."

They ventured back out into the living room and stopped dead at the sight before them.

"It looks like Christmas threw up in here." Maya remarked, honestly impressed with Riley's quick work. In the ten minutes it had taken them to eat their breakfast and freshen up, Riley had already hung tinsel through the whole room, frosted the windows, put the fake Christmas tree together and was busy hanging lights on it. And though Riley did have the tendency to go overboard, the decorations were tastefully done and actually looked quite pretty. So far.

"Oh, good, you're done. Lucas, put these lights up around the room. Make it look nice. Maya," Riley barked at her friends without looking at them, and they followed her orders without question. "Grab those boxes of ornaments and come help me decorate the tree."

Maya did as she was told. Even if she wasn't quite feeling the Christmas spirit, she could at least appreciate decorating the tree as something of an art piece. Eventually she realized that Riley had left to go work on another project and when she looked back at the tree, it was done. It was perfect. Just like in the storybooks. Except…

"The star! Riley!" Maya called, spinning around. "Tell me you bought a star for the tree!"

"In the box by the coffee table!" Riley's voice came from down the hallway, but Maya didn't question it. She wrestled the star out of its package, smiling widely when she succeeded and hurried back to the tree. It was only _then_ that she realized…

"What's the matter Shortstack?" Lucas's voice came very suddenly and she jumped slightly, looking over her shoulder. He was right behind her, arms crossed over his chest as he grinned down at her. "Can't reach the top of the tree?"

"Nope," she answered, turning to look up at him. He was so close to her that her nose almost touched his chest. "But that's why my mom taught me to always have a step-ladder. We Hart women may be short, but we will never depend on a man to do a job we are more than capable of doing." She smiled sweetly and started walking toward the tiny storage closet in their hallway. She was halfway across the living room when she felt something touch the back of her legs. She barely had time to register the fact that Lucas was picking her up before she was already seated securely on his shoulders. Maya squeaked and grabbed two fistfuls of Lucas's hair.

"Asshole!" She laughed in spite of herself as he turned around and walked back over to the tree, his arms pinning her legs to his chest. "You scared the hell out of me."

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not because that was hilarious." He was still chuckling.

"Alright alright, just hold still already so I can finish the tree."

Lucas did as he was asked and when she was done he stepped back so they could admire her work. Maya put her palms together, biting her lip as she scrutinized her art. Lucas gave his shoulders a slight shake to get her attention, craning his neck to look up at her. "It's perfect," he said honestly.

She smiled warmly back at him.

"It's beautiful!" Riley's voice rang through the living room as she half ran to the tree, her arms out in front of her and an absolutely delighted look on her face. "Oh, Maya I love it! You're decorating the tree every year from now until forever." She started bustling around again, organizing the empty boxes and bags and pulling out new decorations.

"How much stuff did you let her buy?" Lucas asked Maya, sounding worried.

"You should know by now Riley does what Riley wants. Let me down so I can help get this whole decorating thing over with."

"I dunno," he replied lazily, making no move to let her down. "I kinda like you up there. I can keep an eye on you."

"Oh yeah? Why would you need to keep an eye on me?"

"You're tiny and sneaky. Like a mouse."

"Sneaky? Tiny, yeah I'll give you that but I'm not sne-"

"Whoa, what's going on here?" A new voice caused all three to turn their heads in the direction of the kitchen. Josh was standing in the doorway, a confused smile on his handsome face. He had filled out some since graduating college, and he wore his dark hair shorter than he once did. His hair was just short enough to be professional but just long enough to still compliment the angles of his face.

"Josh!" Riley rushed to hug her uncle, clearly caught up in the Christmas spirit. "We're having a Christmas party tonight! Maya told you, right?"

"Yeah, she texted me last night," he replied, his eyes on Maya as Lucas set her gently down on the floor. Josh looked back at his niece as Maya fit herself into his side and pecked his cheek. "I won't be able to make it though. I have dinner with a client that I absolutely cannot cancel. I'm really sorry," he glanced alternately at both girls, and he looked the part. Riley and Maya sighed and spoke in unison.

"We know." They were both used to Josh's high profile job and the inconveniences that came with it. Maya nudged him, giving him her best doe eyes and batting her lashes. "But you can come by later, right?"

Josh grinned and kissed her forehead. "I'll try my best. I have to get going, I'm on my lunch. But I wanted to come by and see you since I won't be here for the party." Josh gave Maya a sweet kiss on the mouth, Riley an affectionate one-armed hug and walked back into the kitchen, toward the door. "Have fun you two!"

After the front door shut, Maya noticed she and Riley were alone in the room. Lucas had apparently taken advantage of the distraction of Josh's arrival and slipped off. Frowning, she looked toward the hall and realized she could hear the shower running. "Traitor," she muttered under her breath. Riley got straight back to work.

"Come on Maya. We've only got a few things left. Then we can send Lucas out to pick up food and beer-"

"And liquor."

"And liquor and we can spend hours getting all dolled up and pretty because it's Christmas break and we don't have to study and because we're grownups now and we can." Riley was bursting at the seams, and Maya felt herself get excited for the first time since she'd woken up Riley's enthusiasm for anything was infectious. It was just another reason Maya loved her best friend and thought she was going to make the best elementary school science teacher there ever was. It was like she truly was sunshine personified.

"Okay. Let's do this."

"Do you know what I wonder, Maya?" Riley was sitting at Maya's desk in her room, doing her makeup in the mirror on the wall behind it. She looked absolutely adorable in the midlength dark grey party dress she wore. Riley didn't wait for an answer. "I wonder what Farkle got me for Christmas."

Maya's back was to her as she went through her closet, trying to decide what to wear for the party. It was a good thing Riley couldn't see her face because she actually knew what Farkle had gotten her. But it was a _really_ good present, and she did not want to give it away hours before the surprise. So she played it off, shrugging. "I wonder that all year. What did Farkle get me for Christmas? Cause ya know, he's got all that money so it better be something good."

"I'm serious," Riley laughed. "I feel like he's got something up his sleeve, but then I convince myself that I'm just paranoid because all I could think to get him this year was a scrapbook of our lives together."

"Awww!" Maya gasped, turning around to look at Riley. She clutched her chest and for possibly the first time all day, was not using sacasm. "Riles, that is the cutest thing I've literally ever heard."

"Ugh, stop. It's awful and I hate it but what could I buy him? He has everything! What do you buy for the guy that has everything?!" Riley had completely given up on her makeup at this point, throwing her hands in the air.

Maya walked over and pulled up a chair. She took the eyeliner out of Riley's hand and started to finish her makeup for her. "I'm dead serious honey. That is the most perfect thing you could ever have gotten him. He is going to treasure it for the rest of his life, and nothing you could buy for him would do that. It's going to be fine." Riley smiled, visibly soothed by Maya's words. "We're going to party and have fun and get presents. What could be better?"

"Yeah, you're right. And speaking of perfect presents, Lucas is going to _flip_ when you give him those tickets."

"I know," Maya was applying mascara to her now. "I can't wait to give them to him. I'm tempted to only give him one, though."

"Why?"

"So he has no choice but to take me. What if I give them to him and he takes Zay? Or Farkle?"

"Not a chance. He knows your favorite team is playing, and that you've never been to a game before. Plus, you're giving him the tickets. He'll take you, no question."

"He better," Maya muttered, leaning back to inspect her work. It was Lucas's fault she even liked football in the first place.

In their junior year of high school, Lucas broke his ankle early on in their school's season, putting a severe damper on his chance of getting an athletic scholarship to play in college. The next time his team played, he was so depressed he nearly didn't go watch the game. But Maya had convinced him that he needed to be there for his team, and that if he worked hard enough he would be ready to play his senior year, better than ever. When she volunteered to go with him, he couldn't resist.

For the rest of that year, Maya and Lucas attended every home game for their high school's team. Admittedly, it didn't go well without their star quarterback, but Lucas was there nonetheless. They spent Saturdays watching college football at his house, and Sundays watching professional ball. At first, Lucas just let Maya casually observe while she played on her phone. When Maya saw an absolutely brutal hit on a player for the first time, she was hooked.

Lucas taught her everything (well, almost everything) he knew about the sport, and she soaked it all in. She started actively watching the games with him, and sometimes Zay would come by and watch with them. It became a ritual for them, and by the time their senior year rolled around, Lucas's ankle had healed and he was ready to play. Maya went to every single game that year, and she and Lucas spent the weekends together watching football.

When it came time to finally pick her favorite team, she was conflicted. Lucas liked the Dallas Cowboys, obviously. And frankly Maya did too. But when she saw the way Lucas reacted when the Cowboys played the New York Giants, one of their rivals, she couldn't help herself. She claimed she had to pick her home team, but she absolutely lived for the days their teams played each other. Over time, she began to really love her team and considered herself (though she didn't brag about it) a true football fan.

"Riley, go pick out something for me to wear. Please," Maya added, quickly taking over Riley's seat at the mirror. "I can't decide. I don't know how I'm feeling tonight."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked as she picked through Maya's closet.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because it was all so sudden notice but I'm just not feeling it yet. I still have nothing for Josh,"

"I thought he said not to get him anything?"

"Well yeah, he did, but I still feel like I should get him _something_. And he's not even going to be here for the party, so that kinda blows."

"That's true," Riley pulled out a powdery blue flowy dress, inspecting it. "But your friends will all be here, and we're better than Josh." She put the dress back and reached for something else. "Plus, you do have presents to give to the rest of us, and that'll be worth it on its own."

"You're right," Maya sighed, applying a light contour to her cheeks. "I just feel like the worst girlfriend ever."

"Well you're not," Riley made a decision and pulled a sparkly red dress from the closet and walked back over to Maya. It sparkled, yes, but the dress itself was simple. The straps were about an inch thick, the neckline a subtle V. On Riley, it would've been a hooker dress. But it stopped a couple inches above the knee for Maya, making it the perfect party dress. "You're wearing this."

"Okay," Maya barely glanced at the dress as she had moved on to her eyeliner. "Can I wear combat boots with it?"

"Sure."

"Perfect."

Riley kept the party small, a literal friends-only event. Lucas had enlisted Farkle's help in transporting all the food that Topanga had provided and the beer and liquor Maya had requested. The only other guests besides Riley, Maya, Lucas, and Farkle were Zay and his latest girlfriend, Miranda. Zay had gone to a small liberal arts school for a couple of years, and now was a teacher at a popular dance company. He choreographed routines for musicals, movies, and music videos. And he always had a gorgeous girl on his arm, usually a fellow teacher or (more often) student, but he never really stayed with one girl for too long. He wasn't really a playboy so much as a commitmentphobe, and every girl he dated knew as much upfront. Zay was just having fun in his early twenties.

Though there were only six people in attendance, Maya was having a good time. They had eaten most of the food and were starting to gravitate toward the drinks. Maya had just managed to make herself a margarita on the rocks when Riley commanded the room's attention.

"Let's do presents guys!" The group broke into agreement as they all gathered around the couch and coffee table, near the tree. Riley appointed herself gift-giver and started picking up the presents from the floor. "Oh look, from Maya to Riley."

"What a coincidence," Maya cracked, sipping her drink and smiling. She was sitting on the edge of the couch closest to the tree. Lucas was perched on the arm of the couch, and Zay and Miranda were on her other side. Farkle sat on the edge of the coffee table, near Riley. As always.

Riley tore open the large rectangular package with no delay, her face lighting up when she threw the paper aside. "Oh, Maya. I love it."

"Keep going, there's more."

Maya had been working on Riley's present for the better part of the summer, and had been itching to give them to her for quite a while. She had hand drawn and painted four pictures for Riley's future classrooms. They were motivational posters with coordinating scenes, and Maya really hoped no one thought they were cheesy like the ones that had always been in her classrooms as a student. She tried to put a lot of thought into what kinds of images and words would grab a fourth grader's attention, and she hoped it had paid off. So far, it was looking like it had.

By the time Riley had looked through all the posters, she was tearing up. She wrapped Maya in a hug, sniffling.

"Thank you so much. They're beautiful. But I'm a long way from actually being a teacher."

"I know. But I know that when you graduate, you'll have a job in no time, and then you'll have a classroom to decorate."

The girls squeezed each other one more time before Riley moved back to her position, reaching for the next gift. She gave Maya her gift, which was a coat Maya had been eyeing for months. She squealed and hugged her best friend again.

"Can we move this along please, ladies?" Zay piped up, feigning annoyance at the Riley and Maya lovefest. "We know you love each other. I think the rest of us would like some love too."

"Fine then," Lucas reached down and picked up a small package, handing it to Zay. "You can go next. Spread the love, brother."

"Aw shucks," Zay grabbed the package out of his hands and sat up proudly, grinning. "My friends. My beautiful friends. My beautiful, white, uncoordinated-"

"Hey!" Lucas protested.

"-non-dancing friends. For Christmas, I invite you to find some rhythm. So I got all of you a gift certificate for a free dance class at my studio. Any class, anytime, your choice. And I will not be attending any night clubs with _any of you_ until you go, so. Merry Christmas!" Zay opened the box and tossed an envelope at every one of them except his girlfriend. They all laughed sheepishly, accepting their gifts.

"Thanks a lot, Zay," Farkle muttered, looking around for somewhere to 'lose' his gift.

"Oh you'll be thanking me one day, buddy," Zay winked at Farkle, who quickly turned back to the presents.

"Uhh, okay, who's next.. Oh, I'll go! To Lucas, from Farkle." He picked up a large present and handed it to Lucas. Lucas took it from him and smiled brightly.

"Thanks," he carefully tore open the paper and his jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me, Farkle?" He was completely in awe of his gift, a brand new Xbox One console. He didn't spend _all_ his time playing video games, but he did enjoy them in his spare time. But he'd never been able to justify spending $400 on a new console when his Xbox 360 still worked just fine. But that kind of money was pocket change to Farkle, which he forgot quite often. "Thank you so much, man. This is incredible."

"No problem," Farkle replied, handing him another, smaller present. "This one's from Riley."

Inside, Lucas found replacement games for all of his favorites, for his new console. Riley and Farkle had coordinated, obviously. And it was perfect. Lucas stood up and hugged both of them.

"Thank you guys. These are amazing."

Lucas gave Zay some new workout clothes, Maya gave Zay gift certificates for massages for his constantly sore muscles. Lucas gave Riley and Farkle Barnes and Noble gift cards, since they both could usually be found with their noses in a book. Maya gave Farkle the painting of the solar system she had done for him, and he presented her with a pair of expensive headphones to use when she wanted to disappear into her art. And then it was Riley and Farkle's turn. Riley went first and, as Maya predicted, Farkle was completely in love with his present. Riley had included pictures of them playing together as children, in middle school, and high school, where they had finally realized they were perfect for each other. When Farkle reached into his back pocket to retrieve his gift for Riley, everyone watched intensely. He handed the envelope to her and watched her face closely as she opened it.

"Farkle… What is this?"

"Plane tickets, babe. To Los Angeles."

"Why are these plane tickets to Los Angeles?"

"Because we're going to Disneyland on spring break."

Riley's face only registered pure shock for a solid minute. Then she immediately started crying happy tears and almost tackled her boyfriend. Farkle smiled widely, holding on to her to steady her as she flailed and squealed unintelligibly. After a few minutes she had calmed down enough that she could sit, though she was still shaking. She turned her excited face to Maya expectantly.

"Alright Huckleberry, looks like it's our turn." Maya had put the tickets in a box with a decent sized rock (that she had painted black to resemble coal) on top of it for some weight, just to throw him off.

"I'll go first," Lucas stood from the couch and picked up Maya's present. He handed her a rectangular lightweight box. She shook it.

"Clothes? Really? This had better be good," Maya said threateningly, tearing open the package.

Slowly, she pulled out her present and couldn't help but gasp in surprise. Inside was a special edition red Giants jersey. She held it up in front of her, turning it around to read the name on the back.

"Odell Beckham Jr!" She exclaimed, too excited to stay seated. "Lucas, I love it! And it's the _red_ one!" The Giants typically wore blue and white jerseys, and the red ones were especially hard to find. Maya knew; she had looked.

"Well, you do look good in red," Lucas commented, his cheeks pinking slightly. Quickly, he added, "And I couldn't watch a game with you wearing that awful NY blue. It clashes with my Cowboys blue, you know."

"Uh-huh," Maya couldn't stop smiling now. She had already been excited to give Lucas his present, but now she positively could not wait to see his face when he opened it. "Thank you Lucas. This is more perfect than you know."

"It's nothing," he waved off her thanks, but he did look quite pleased with himself.

"My turn," Maya couldn't hide her anticipation as she picked up the last box under the tree and handed it to him. He gave it a shake, frowning slightly when he felt the rock move around inside.

"Did you actually get me a lump of coal for Christmas?" He pulled off the lid and glanced inside. "That's it, hand over the jersey-"

"NO!" Maya clutched her new prized possession to her chest, smiling. "Keep looking."

Looking skeptical, Lucas removed the painted rock and looked back down into the box. His expression changed to intrigue as he pulled out the envelope and slid it open with a finger.

"Maya," he breathed, registering almost immediately what was written on the tickets. He took them out of the envelope to inspect them, awestruck. "Are these real? These can't possibly be real. How did you get these?!"

Maya smiled proudly at his flustered reaction. "Oh, they're real."

"How?!" He asked again, finally pulling his eyes from the tickets to focus on her face. "These seats have got to be hundreds of dollars. How'd you afford this? Wait, I thought you said you didn't buy me anything?"

"I _didn't_ buy them," she paused cryptically, just long enough for absolute bewilderment to color Lucas's features. How could he possibly be so attractive with that look on his face? The snug navy blue sweater hugging his toned chest and arms didn't hurt, either. "I won them. From some random newscaster wandering around the city the other day. I had to answer a trivia question. You would've been proud."

"I _am_ proud," Lucas still looked incredulous. "And stunned. And overwhelmed. And… oh my God I can't believe this…"

"Believe it," Maya plucked one of the tickets from his hand and held it to her chest. "And clear your schedule next weekend, Sundance. 'Cause we're gonna do it up right."

Lucas engulfed Maya in a hug from his seat next to her. She warmly returned it and spoke lowly into his ear.

"I told you my present was perfect."

Lucas said something softly in return but it was drowned out by Zay clearing his throat loudly.

"Anyone care to let the rest of us in on what exactly just happened here?"

As Lucas and Maya separated and looked around their living room, they suddenly realized they were the center of attention. All eyes were on them and their friends wore a mixture of expressions. Miranda, bless her heart, had no idea what was happening, but she smiled sweetly anyway. Farkle had a carefully reserved look on his face. Riley and Zay had the same expression: happy, but secretive and… Maya didn't have time to figure out what else her friends were feeling before Riley jumped up with a purpose.

"Zay! Help me get this paper cleaned up."

"But.. is anyone gonna tell m-"

"Come with me Zay. Now."

Zay covered his slight confusion swiftly and helped Riley pick up the trash, then followed her into the kitchen. Maya watched their retreating backs with narrowed eyes. They were conspiring, but why?

Once everyone had recovered from the amazing gifts they'd just given each other, the party fell into an easy rhythm. Zay turned on some music and was dancing with Miranda. Showing off, frankly. The rest of them had some drinks and casually watched The Santa Clause, which had been Riley and Maya's favorite Christmas movie when they were kids.

Zay and Miranda left first, followed shortly after by Riley and Farkle. Maya walked them to the door, hugging them both before they left.

"So you'll be at my parents' for Christmas dinner, right?" Riley asked, her eyes already droopy. It was ten o'clock already, far past the time she was normally in her pajamas.

"Of course, Riles. Get home safe."

"We will. Love you,"

"Love you more."

Maya closed the door on Riley's yawning face, waving goodbye to Farkle before turning and heading to her room. She quickly changed into black shorts and her new jersey. She couldn't help herself as she spun around in front of the mirror. It fit her perfectly. Well, as perfectly as a football jersey could fit anyone. It clung to her curves without being skintight and it didn't hang down to her knees, like most things. Excited to show Lucas, she bounded out of her room-

And straight into a hard, warm chest.

"Oof!" she jumped back, startled. "Sorry, I didn't look before I left my room."

"It's ok, are you alright? You hit pretty hard." Lucas looked into her face, concern shading his green eyes.

Maya laughed. "You're in good shape, Huckleberry, but you're not The Rock. I'm fine."

"Good. I'm just heading back to my room to change. Wanna watch…" he trailed off, reaching up to his head. "What the hell is this?" He pulled the offending object out of his hair and held it between them.

"Mistletoe," Maya breathed, half her mouth quirking up into a grin. Lucas was still looking confused until Maya clarified. "Riley."

"Oh, of course." Lucas chuckled. The hallway was dim, but Maya could've sworn his cheekbones hadn't been that pink a moment ago. She shuffled her feet somewhat awkwardly, waiting for him to react. To do something, anything so that she didn't have to decide how to handle this moment. Finally, he spoke. "Well, in the name of tradition, I guess we should…"

"Yeah," Maya's voice came out breathier than she expected, and she cleared her throat quickly. She could feel her own cheeks heating up, suddenly grateful for the low light. "I mean, tradition."

"Right."

"Of course."

He hesitated another few seconds before he tilted her chin slightly upwards with his fingers. He leaned down, eyes hard to read. Maya's fluttered closed as he slowly moved closer. She inhaled when she felt his lips lightly, so lightly, brush over hers.

Then he stopped. He seemed to catch himself and he pulled back abruptly, but not all the way. He swallowed hard.

"Your boyfriend probably wouldn't appreciate this,"

"What?" Maya couldn't help the disappointment that spread through her chest, even if it did confuse her a bit. Lucas was right; Josh would definitely not be happy about this if he knew. But if she didn't tell him… She shook herself, trying to clear her head. "You're right."

She couldn't bring herself to look Lucas in the eye as he lifted his head and kissed her forehead sweetly. He stood for another minute, before his chest heaved as he took a deep breath and headed for his door. She watched him go, thoroughly confused over what the hell had just happened.

"Lucas, wait,"

He stopped dead and turned on a dime, looking back at her. His expression was impossible to read, but he quirked his eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"You were…" _Get a grip, Hart!_ Maya finally looked him in the face. "You were saying something. Before…"

He looked genuinely confused for a second before realization hit him. "Oh, I was gonna see if you wanted to watch a movie or something. It's only ten."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go pick one." She waited until he'd gone into his room and closed the door before letting out the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

 _What the hell was that?_ Maya ducked back into her room and grabbed her phone, feeling almost relieved that Josh hadn't called or texted. Then she frowned. Josh _should_ have called or texted by now. Where was he? As if on cue, her phone buzzed. A text.

 **J** : Hey babe. I just got done with dinner, I'm really sorry I haven't called. It was a rough meeting.

 **M** : That's okay, everyone just left anyway. Are you coming over?

Maya walked back to the living room, checking out their movie choices before pulling out X-Men: First Class. It was one of Lucas's favorites, and she never minded watching Michael Fassbender for a couple hours. She slipped the movie into the DVD player and settled on the couch. Finally, her phone buzzed with Josh's reply.

 **J** : Not tonight Maya. I'm sorry but I'm just mentally exhausted. I'll come pick you up tomorrow and we'll get lunch, ok? Love you.

Maya sighed, hesitating for a moment before she replied.

 **M** : Yeah sure. Love you too.

She half expected him to pick a fight with her over her 'tone,' as he did sometimes when she would answer a longer text with a short one.

"What'd you pick?" Lucas's voice reached her as he entered the room and took his place next to her on the couch.

"You'll see." She sighed, setting her phone on the table and leaning her head on his shoulder.

He glanced over at her, frowning slightly. "Everything ok?"

She nodded, not really in the mood to talk. Josh had pissed her off and she was still not at all sure what to think of the mistletoe incident. She wanted to give Riley the benefit of the doubt and assume that she'd placed mistletoe outside her room for Josh, but she couldn't. She made a mental note to confront her about it the next day.

Lucas lifted his arm and Maya settled her cheek against his chest, smiling in spite of herself as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close. They were so comfortable with each other and she hoped that would never change. She didn't want to lose the friendship they shared. But she couldn't deny (though she would if anyone asked) the small butterflies she felt in her stomach when she remembered the look on his face just before he almost kissed her.

She spent most of the movie up in her head, convincing herself that it would never happen again. Lucas surely didn't _want_ to kiss her, did he? Then again, he could've laughed off the "tradition" of mistletoe… But, she reasoned, he was a Huckleberry. Of course he didn't actually want to kiss her.

…right?

A/N: Just FYI, I don't plan on ending every chapter with Maya and Lucas watching a movie on the couch, lol. Just ended up that way. Sorry if this ended up a bit long, but I hope you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ok here we go, chapter three. This one may seem like filler because, well, it basically is. I felt like I was moving too fast and I really wanna slow down and flesh this out a bit. So I apologize if this seems… disorganized. It kinda got away from me a few times and honestly I'm not stoked with it, but here it is anyway. Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear what you think. Also, I'm still not sure how to page break very well soo I'm just gonna put some letters and hope that works. Sorry, I'm still not hip to how this website works entirely.

Disclaimer: Don't own GMW. Clearly.

 _Do do do do..._

"Eight… Nine… Ten. Ugh," Lucas grunted as he set the dumbbells back onto the rack and glanced at himself in the mirror. His hair was sticking up in a few places and his face was flushed, a bit shiny with sweat.

Technically, he'd been done with his workout for about an hour. But it was Christmas Eve and the gym was only open for another fifteen minutes. Running a hand through his damp hair, he sighed and headed for the locker room to shower. It had been a few days since the party at his apartment and it had only taken Maya about half a day to make up with Josh. He'd come over the day after the party and the two of them had disappeared almost immediately into her room, her giggles slightly muffled but Lucas could hear them from the living room. He'd been spending a lot of time at the gym the last few days. He told Farkle it was because their apartment was so small that three people felt like a crowd, and because Farkle was a good friend, he pretended to believe him.

Truth was, Lucas couldn't stand to be around Josh. Not that he'd ever taken the time to get to know him. He told Maya that Josh just wasn't the type of guy Lucas hung around with and that they didn't have anything in common. Which was mostly true, but that didn't very well explain his friendship for Farkle or even Zay, for that matter. But Maya had long ago given up pushing her best friend and her boyfriend to be anything more than acquaintances.

It was a lot easier to avoid them when classes were going on and Lucas had a legitimate excuse to leave the apartment, or at least could pretend he had a class or a project to work on somewhere (anywhere, honestly) else. Now that it was Christmas break though, he'd been spending a lot of time at the gym to escape his apartment. And it was exactly as boring as it sounded.

But it was a good way to relieve stress, and he must've been doing something right, if the stares he received anywhere he went in the gym were anything to go by. He gave the girls standing near the entrance to the locker room a polite half smile as he moved quickly past them on his way out the door. He'd avoided going home for as long as he could, but it was time.

Lucas cursed himself under his breath as he stepped out into the freezing air, realizing he had forgotten his knit beanie at home. His hair was still slightly wet, and he had no doubt it would be frozen by the time he got there. Sighing, he yanked his collar up as far as it would go and began his short walk home.

It wasn't that Lucas didn't _like_ Josh; he did, for the most part. The guy was polite, charming, and from what he could tell, he treated Maya pretty well. The thing about Josh that bothered him was that he didn't really seem to make a whole lot of effort where Maya was concerned. Sure, he took her on dates and bought her flowers and took her shopping whenever she wanted. But he was almost never around when any of Maya's friends were, and as far as Lucas knew, she'd never hung out with any of his friends either. Hell, Lucas wasn't entirely sure if Maya even knew where Josh worked.

It was too coincidental not to be intentional, and it didn't sit right with Lucas. What guy dates a girl he's in love with for over a year and barely knows any of her friends? Riley was a bit of a special case, being his niece, but from what Lucas had noticed, Josh didn't spend any more time with her than he did with Lucas, Farkle or Zay. It made him suspect that Josh wasn't serious about Maya the way she was about him, and he worried that one day Josh would break Maya's heart.

And then Lucas would have to break him.

Gritting his teeth from the cold, Lucas pulled open the door to their building and trudged up the two flights of stairs to their third floor apartment. As he walked into the kitchen and felt the warmth radiating through the room, he almost moaned in relief. Maya must have had the heat blasting all day, which he was sure would cost them a fortune but he couldn't bring himself to be upset about it. He ran a hand through his thawing hair, flicking the melted ice that stuck to his fingers on the floor.

"Hello?" He called out cautiously, stepping out of his boots and hanging up his coat. The last thing he wanted to do was walk in on Josh and Maya. He walked slowly through the kitchen, peeking out into the living room. Empty. His stomach twisted as he realized that just because the living room was empty, didn't mean they weren't in Maya's bedroom. He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Anyone home?"

"In here!" Maya's somewhat muffled reply came from her room. Lucas walked down the hallway, stopping by her door.

"Are you decent?"

"Like you care?" Her reply was sarcastic but her small laugh after the fact gave her away. She was in much better spirits than she had been a few days ago. "I'm kidding, you can come in."

He nudged the door open with his shoulder, taking an involuntary step back as he surveyed her room. It was a disaster, of course, but it never failed to surprise him exactly how messy Maya's room could get. There was no limit, apparently.

She was seated at her makeshift vanity, straightening her long hair. Lucas stepped carefully through the room, flopping onto his back on her bed and letting out a sigh.

"What's up, Huckleberry?" she asked, glancing at him in the mirror before returning to her work on her hair.

"Hmm?" Lucas hadn't realized he'd let his eyes slip closed until he opened them and focused on her. "Oh, nothing. Just a little tired from the gym."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't. You were there for hours," Maya trailed off, focusing on moving the flatiron slowly through her blonde locks. Then she frowned. "Come to think of it, you've been there a lot lately. I feel like I've barely seen you since the party."

"Well you've been pretty busy yourself," Lucas replied, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

"Har har," She mock laughed, shooting him a look. "You'd better drink some coffee or something because my mom and Shawn will be here soon."

Lucas paused, looking at his phone to check the time. Four o'clock; Maya was right. Shawn and Katy had decided to come to their apartment this year for Christmas Eve because they were halfway through a kitchen renovation and it was near impossible to cook there. Plus, Maya had pointed out, they already had all the necessary decorations.

Katy and Shawn had finally gotten married in Maya's sophomore year of high school. Katy had changed her name to Hunter, but Maya had decided to keep the last name of Hart, in honor of the years Katy had put in raising Maya alone. But she loved Shawn dearly, and her general outlook on life had changed dramatically when she had gained a new father, especially after Shawn officially adopted her later that year.

Lucas's parents had moved back to Texas after his high school graduation. They pressured him to move with them and to attend the University of Texas branch in Austin, but once he had been accepted to NYU, Lucas knew he couldn't leave. The friendships he'd left back in Texas couldn't compare to the bonds he'd formed with his friends in New York. Some years, he flew down to visit for Christmas. Other years, he waited until summer. This year, he was waiting until he had finished his last semester of the year to visit home.

As if on cue, Katy's voice floated down the hall.

"Maya? You home baby?"

"Yeah Mom, in my room!" Maya ran a brush through her hair, glancing quickly at her reflection before dashing across her room and out into the hall. Lucas pushed himself up slowly, following her. She threw her arms around her mother, beaming. "I'm so excited for our first Christmas in my apartment!"

"Don't get too excited, kid," Shawn followed Katy out of the kitchen and into the small hallway, grinning at his girls. "This is temporary. Next year, I'll be cooking you all dinner in our new gourmet kitchen."

"In the meantime, my tiny kitchen will have to do," Maya quipped, stepping out of Katy's embrace to hug her stepfather. "Speaking of, what's for dinner?"

"Your favorite," Shawn answered simply, releasing Maya and turning on his heel to head back to the kitchen. Maya, Katy and Lucas followed.

In the kitchen, Shawn had set several grocery bags full of ingredients on the counter and he began to unload them. Maya and her mother exchanged excited looks. "Chicken marsala!" They spoke in unison, looking absolutely overjoyed.

"Ohh God, I cannot wait. I'm actually drooling right now," Maya's smile was infectious, and Lucas found himself returning it, glad to be in New York for the holidays. Back in Texas, Christmas meant a turkey dinner and all the fixings, including all of Lucas's rather large extended family. It was always entertaining, and Lucas loved seeing all of his cousins, aunts and uncles. But it could get to be a bit much at times, and being here in his apartment with Maya and her parents felt small and intimate. It was nice.

"Lucas," Shawn addressed him as he reached for a knife and a cutting board. "Wanna help me out? I know you do the cooking around here."

Lucas laughed. "How could you tell?"

"For one, the dishes are done," Shawn cracked, casting a sideways look at Maya, who rolled her eyes in response. "And for two, I know for a fact Maya's cooking abilities don't extend much past boxed mac and cheese and frozen pizza."

"Hey," Maya shot back as the rest of them laughed. She was busy making hot chocolate in the microwave. "I can make a damn good quesadilla, and Lucas showed me how to cook eggs."

"This is all true," Lucas said, falling in line with Shawn and taking the knife from his hand. "But I do have to say that even though she can't cook, Maya can bake circles around me. She makes the best chocolate chip cookies I've literally ever had in my life." He paused, looking up quickly from the mushrooms he was slicing. "Please don't tell my Mama I said that."

"Your secret is safe with us, cowboy," Maya grinned playfully at him, pulling two mugs of hot chocolate from the microwave and handing one to her mother. "Mother," she began, adopting a regal air. "Shall we lounge on the couch while the menfolk prepare the feast?"

"We shall, my daughter," Katy fell into an exaggerated English accent and nodded to Lucas and Shawn. "Adieu, gentleman."

The pair giggled and walked arm in arm out of the kitchen. Lucas and Shawn shared a look, chuckling quietly.

"So how is school going, Lucas?" Shawn asked, making easy conversation as he set a pot of water on the stove to boil. He had always liked and been nice to Lucas; certainly not the case for any of Maya's high school boyfriends. He tried a bit harder with Josh, but only a bit. Lucas suspected Shawn didn't see him as a threat (potential boyfriend) and he had to admit it stung.

"It's going really well, actually," Lucas answered, setting aside his chopped vegetables and going to work on the chicken. "I'm thinking about applying for an internship over spring break, since I don't have any plans."

"Yeah? Where?"

"I'm not sure where it is, but I know I would get to write a blog about basically anything I want, as long as it's sports related. It could be a really good opportunity for me."

"That sounds great, Lucas," Shawn looked impressed. "I hope you're going to do it. Something like that would look really good on a resume. And writing jobs aren't exactly easy to come by anymore."

"Believe me, I know," Lucas huffed a laugh, remembering the hours he spent arguing with his parents his senior year of high school. They had not only wanted him to move back to Texas for college, they highly disapproved of his choice of major and career. "My parents wanted me to go into _anything_ but journalism. But this is what I'm passionate about."

"And that's all that matters. Look at me, I'm living proof of that." Shawn edged quietly to the doorway and peeked into the living room, smiling when he caught sight of his family. He looked back at Lucas, still smiling but with a serious look in his eyes. "Happiness isn't about money or having the perfect career or the perfect home, Lucas. Real happiness comes from spending time with the people you love the most in the world."

Lucas held Shawn's gaze, a little intimidated by the intense turn the conversation had taken.

"And," Shawn added, returning to his work at the stove, his tone significantly lighter than it had been a moment ago. "Knowing they love you back doesn't hurt."

Lucas couldn't think of anything to say to that, and couldn't help but to think that the last part was solely for his ears.

 _Meanwhile..._

Maya and Katy settled in to the couch, gripping their mugs. Maya picked up the remote and turned on the TV, flipping through the stations at random, stopping finally on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. She smiled to herself. She'd always loved Rudolph, because as a child she knew she was different from her friends. Farkle and Riley had money and happy, married parents. Maya had neither. Though she knew now that it wasn't her fault, the fact was that she had spent a lot of her adolescence wondering why she was different. Why couldn't she have nice things? Why wasn't her mother around more often to help her with her schoolwork?

Of course, as she grew older and especially after she met her biological father (she now refused to call him anything else, except occasionally by his name), Maya realized that she actually had it pretty good. She had a roof over her head, albeit a leaky one, and a mother who bent over backwards day and night to provide for her. She never questioned her mother's love and dedication to her and looking back, she wouldn't have had it any other way.

Things had changed after Katy and Shawn had married, but only for the better. The three of them had moved to a bigger apartment in a nicer neighborhood with a roof that _didn't_ leak. Shawn had found a full-time position in the city and suddenly, Maya found out what it was like to have two parents at home every night. And as much as she loved having a family, her mom's happiness, and Shawn, she still craved mother-daughter time with Katy.

"Aww, Rudolph!" Katy squealed, beaming at Maya. "This was always your favorite as a little girl."

"I know," Maya replied, her half smile suddenly turning into a scowl. "But the more I think about it now, Rudolph should've told Santa and all those other reindeer to shove it."

"What?" Katy laughed, turning to her daughter. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, ALL of them made fun of him when they were little and never let him play any of their games, hell, even Rudolph's own DAD was ashamed of him. But then there's a foggy Christmas Eve and he's the only one who can light the way and suddenly everyone loves him? Uh-uh. Screw that. If I were Rudolph, I would've told them all to kiss my ass and flown straight back to the Island of Misfit Toys." Maya finished her rant, cheeks slightly flushed, and Katy couldn't help but to giggle.

"That's my girl," She said fondly, wrapping an arm around Maya's shoulders. "Always looking out for the little guy."

Maya huffed. "Great, now I'm too angry to keep watching this." She handed Katy the remote. "Find something else, please."

"How about," Katy paused, pointing the remote at the TV and hitting the power button. "We just have a little girl time, yeah? You seem like you need it."

"I do," Maya admitted, leaning her head on her mother's shoulder.

"What's going on, baby girl?"

Maya was quiet for a beat. "I'm nervous."

"About what?"

Maya sighed, hesitating. "Christmas," she admitted finally, lifting her head to look at Katy. "I know Josh probably got me some amazing gift and all I could manage to buy for him was some stupid movie he wanted."

"Oh honey, there's nothing wrong with that!" Katy tried to reassure her daughter. "Christmas isn't about how much you spend on gifts, it's about giving the people you love something you know _they_ will love."

"I know, I know," Maya mumbled, fiddling with the ends of her hair. "It just seems so… immature. I'm a grown woman in a committed relationship with a grown man, and I bought him a movie for Christmas."

"Ah," Katy replied sagely. "I see."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Please, enlighten me. I'm begging for your motherly wisdom."

Katy pulled her arm back, settling her hands into her lap and turning to face Maya on the couch. "Are you sure? Maya, I'll give you advice but I don't think it's going to be what you want to hear."

Maya's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You're worried that Josh still sees you as a little girl who's too young for him," Katy began, watching Maya's face closely. "Am I right so far?"

Maya gave a minute nod, her eyes cast down to her hands.

"Maya."

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"How much do you really know about Josh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked defensively.

"What's he like? What kind of personality does he have?"

Maya's eyebrows furrowed, a look of utter confusion spreading across her features. "Mom, I don't understand what-"

"I'm not talking about what kind of music or movies he likes, Maya. I'm asking you, _what kind of man is Josh?_ "

"I-I.. he, um," She stuttered, her cheeks flushed. "Well, he's brilliant, for one."

"Okay." Katy waited patiently for Maya to continue.

"And, um, he's a people person. He's a social butterfly; he can walk into a room full of strangers and strike up a conversation with anyone."

"So he's charismatic."

"Yes! And… He has a lot of friends, so he's obviously a good friend."

"Who's his best friend?"

"What?" Maya was taken aback.

"What is his best friend's name?"

She paused. "He… doesn't really have a best friend. Not like Riley, anyway." Maya took a swig of her hot chocolate to soothe her suddenly dry throat. "That I know of…"

"That's my point, Maya."

"What is?"

Katy sighed, giving her daughter a small, sympathetic smile. "Everything you just told me about Josh, I could've found out from reading his resume or, hell, his Facebook page. You two have been dating for what, a year now? And all you can tell me about him is that he's charming and has a lot of friends, but not a single friend close enough to call his _best_ friend?" Katy took Maya's mug from her hands, set it on the coffee table and took her daughter's hands into her own, forcing Maya to look her in the face. "I think you need to take some time and figure out why you're really dating him."

"What?" Maya scoffed, pulling her hands out of Katy's grasp and fighting down the guilt she felt at the look on her face. "Mom, I love Josh."

Katy smiled sadly. "Baby girl, I don't think you do. I think you love what he represents."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"What he's always represented to you: the Matthews family. Do you think I forgot your middle school crush on him? Maya, I'm your mother. I know you better than anyone, barring possibly Riley," She paused, smiling. "But that's only because you tell her things you don't tell me."

"I-"

"Wait a minute, baby," Katy took her hands again, and this time she didn't pull away. The anger had subsided from Maya's eyes, replaced with confusion and sadness. "Now, I understood your desire to be part of the Matthews family then. They took care of you when I couldn't be there, and I'll always be grateful to them for that. But then Shawn came along, and he changed things for us, didn't he?"

Maya hesitated, her voice coming out very small. "Yes."

"And I know you love Shawn, and you love the three of us being our own little family. But I think that you've never really let go of the idea of officially being Riley's family."

Maya said nothing.

"Why did you start dating Josh?"

"Are you kidding me?" Maya joked halfheartedly. "Have you seen the guy?"

"Well he's gorgeous, obviously. But why did you go out with him?"

Maya chewed on her lip. "I dunno… He was at Riley's parents' house, we talked for a while-"

"Flirted, you mean."

"Yeah," Maya fought to keep the blush off of her cheeks as she continued. "He put his number in my phone and then he texted me a few days later asking me out and… I said yes." She frowned slightly, looking to her left as she tried to remember what it had felt like when Josh Matthews _finally_ asked her out. "I guess… I guess I said yes because-"

"Dinner!" Shawn's loud call made them both jump slightly as they turned to look at him. His eyebrows shot up. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Just girl talk," Katy beamed at her husband, patting Maya's hands. "We'll be right there."

Shawn disappeared back into the kitchen. Katy turned back to Maya and brushed her daughter's hair from her face. She lifted Maya's chin with her finger and smiled softly.

"You don't have to figure anything out right now, Maya. I just want you to think about it."

Maya nodded, swallowing. "I will. Thanks, Mom."

Katy pulled her into a hug, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "Anytime, baby girl." She pulled back and smiled widely. "Now, let's go get our Christmas grub on, yeah?"

Maya returned her smile in earnest, even if she was more confused now than she had been. "Yeah. Let's go."

 _La la la la..._

Lucas was putting the finishing touches on the table when Maya and Katy walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, this looks _amazing_!" Katy exclaimed as Shawn wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"It really does," Maya agreed, walking to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of chardonnay. "Keep it up, Huckleberry, and I'll be expecting a dinner like this every night."

Lucas laughed, taking four wine glasses from the cupboard and setting them down on the small table. He took the bottle from Maya, who was struggling with the corkscrew, and opened it easily. He poured the wine into the glasses and stepped back from the table with a dramatic wave of his arm. " _Bon appetit_."

"Ohh," Katy giggled, sitting down. " _Merci, monsieur_."

The four of them began eating without pretense. The food was impressive: chicken marsala and fettuccine, garlic bread, salad with an unbelievably good homemade Italian dressing, and a small bowl of mashed potatoes. Lucas had made them the day before just for Maya; she wholeheartedly believed that no holiday meal was complete without them.

"Mmmph," Maya made a noise around her mouth full of food. "Lucas, this tastes as good as it smells. It's absolutely amazing."

Lucas blushed, taking a long swig of his wine. "Thanks, but I didn't do it alone."

"It's delicious baby," Katy piped up, trying to draw Shawn's attention from Lucas's suddenly pink cheeks. She leaned over and kissed him sweetly. "As always."

They fell into an easy silence again, the only sounds in the room coming from the clinking of forks and knives against their plates. It didn't take anyone long to clean their plates and soon, all four of them were leaning back in their chairs, hands resting on their full stomachs.

"Who's ready for dessert?" Shawn joked, standing up to clear the plates. All three groaned in response.

"Maybe in a few hours," Maya said, finishing off her glass of wine. "Or maybe tomorrow."

"Speaking of tomorrow," Katy began, helping Shawn rinse the plates off in the sink. "What time are we supposed to be at Cory and Topanga's?"

"Not til around noon or so, I think." Shawn answered. "They do a late breakfast on Christmas morning these days, since Riley and Auggie-"

"August," Maya corrected. "He goes by August now."

"Right," Shawn rolled his eyes, grinning. "Since _August_ and Riley don't wake up at the crack of dawn to open gifts anymore, we don't need to be there very early."

"Good," Maya replied, opening the fridge and pulling out another bottle of wine and heading for the living room. "Because I do not plan on being up early."

"Right behind ya!" Lucas called, grabbing a beer and following her, Katy and Shawn close behind.

Shawn and Katy sat on the couch, immediately cuddling in the easy, affectionate way of a couple that's been together for some time. Maya was seated in the only chair in the room, her legs dangling over the arm. Lucas approached her and cleared his throat. She slid her eyes from the TV, where Shawn was flipping through the stations, to Lucas, a blank expression on her face.

"How you doin'?"

"Scoot."

"I was here first, cowboy. I ain't scootin'."

Lucas sighed dramatically. "As you wish." And he sat down directly on top of her, withholding the majority of his weight so as not to actually crush her.

"Ugh! You weigh a thousand pounds!" Maya's legs were flailing as she pushed against him with all her might, not moving him the slightest bit. "Get off me, you giant!"

"Then make some room!"

"Fine!" Lucas stood up and Maya put her legs down, moving as far to one side of the chair as she could. Lucas wedged himself in the small space, picking Maya's legs up and laying them across his own as she shifted slightly to the side to get more room.

Lucas noticed Shawn and Katy talking quietly, their heads bent together, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Maya noticed Lucas noticing and piped up.

"Whatcha talking about?"

"Oh, uh," Shawn cleared his throat, trying to cover up his stutter. "We were just trying to figure out how we're going to sleep on this couch without hurting ourselves."

"Mom, you're not sleeping on my couch." Maya said firmly, taking a drink from the wine bottle. "Take my room. I'll be fine out here."

"Er, thanks babydoll but I think we'll be OK on the couch," Katy said hastily, looking to Shawn for support. "We'll figure something out."

Lucas chuckled. "You guys can have my room. I promise, it's much cleaner." He laughed again as Maya nudged him none too gently in the ribs with her elbow.

"Hey!"

"What? The truth hurts, Penelope."

" _Don't call me that!_ "

"But it's such a pretty-"

"Thank you, Lucas," Shawn spoke loudly, interrupting their banter, smiling. "My neck thanks you, too. And my nose, for that matter."

"My room doesn't stink!" Maya threw her hands in the air, nearly forgetting about the half empty wine bottle she was still holding.

"That's just because you're used to the sme- hey! STOP!" Maya jumped up, turning around and nearly straddling Lucas as she assaulted his ribs with her fingers, tickling him mercilessly. "Maya – stop – please – ohmygodIcan'tbreathe – STOOOPPP!"

Laughing, Maya finally halted her attack, settling back in to her seat. Lucas was red-faced and panting slightly.

"Aww, what's the matter Lucas?" Maya pouted at him, barely containing her wide smile. "Is somebody a wittle ticklish?"

Lucas whipped his head around and stared her down, a dangerous glint in his green eyes. "You'll pay for that."

"Bring it, Sundance."

"Okay, okay, enough, you two." Shawn finally said, a small smile on his face as he watched them. "A Christmas Story is just starting so can we please just watch this movie and go to bed? This old man is getting tired."

"Fine," Maya grumbled, picking up her bottle from where she'd set it on the floor. She wiggled her hips, settling deeper into the chair. Lucas lifted his arm to give her more room, draping it over her shoulders as she sat back. The room fell silent as the movie started.

But Shawn was apparently more tired than he let on, because within thirty minutes he was snoring loudly, his head flung onto the back of the couch, mouth hanging open.

"Okay, I'm calling it." Katy finally said, standing up and stretching her arms over her head. A yawn escaped her lips. "We're going to turn in. Lucas, do you need anything from your room before we head to bed?"

"Yeah, let me just grab some stuff to sleep in."

Maya moved her legs so Lucas could stand up. He returned a moment later in a Cowboys T-shirt and basketball shorts. Katy was trying, with little success, to rouse Shawn enough to walk him to bed. Maya drained what was left of her bottle, standing up.

"Move over, Mom. I got this." She set the bottle on the coffee table and walked over to Shawn, slightly unsteady on her feet. She gripped both of his shoulders, and bent so that she was right in his snoring face. "HUNTER!"

"Huh- what?!" Shawn snorted awake, eyes wide. After a beat, he ran his hands over his face and shoved Maya away gently. She swayed slightly, a playful grin on her face. "Alright, alright. I'm going. Night, you two."

"Night Shawn." Maya and Lucas replied in unison. Shawn trudged down the hall to the bedroom. Lucas could hear his bed squeak slightly from his weight and within seconds, Shawn's snoring was echoing into the room.

"You guys should probably turn in soon, too." Katy advised, lingering at the end of the hall. She pointed at her daughter. "Especially you. I'm letting it slide because it's Christmas, but you will not be fun tomorrow if you don't get some sleep after all you've drank tonight." Katy turned her gaze to Lucas, who had settled himself on the couch. "What are your plans tomorrow, Lucas?"

"Nothing, really." He answered, looking over his shoulder at her. "I was planning on just hanging around here, I guess."

"Nonsense!" Katy exclaimed. "You're coming with us to the Matthews."

"No, really, I'll be fine-"

"Absolutely not. No one should be alone on Christmas." Lucas started to argue again, but Katy wasn't having it. "End of discussion."

Lucas clamped his mouth shut, a feeling of dread radiating through his stomach. "Yes ma'am."

"See," Katy smiled, pointing at Lucas. "I like you. Always so polite."

Maya rolled her eyes, nudging Lucas with her knee. "He can't help it. Once a Ranger Rick, always a Ranger Rick."

"As for you, young lady," Katy's voice took on a slightly stern tone that made Maya snap to attention. "Think about what we talked about, OK? You don't need to make any decisions tonight, _especially_ not tonight. But think about it."

"Yeah," Maya mumbled in response, turning away from her mother. "I will. Good night, Mom. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, baby girl. Good night guys." Katy padded softly down the hall and closed the door of Lucas's room.

Lucas cast a tentative sideways glance at Maya. "What's that about?"

"Nothing," Maya said quietly, looking anywhere but at Lucas. He frowned. It wasn't like her to keep things from him. Especially things that seemed to trouble her as much as whatever this was. But he decided not to push it, turning the TV to SportsCenter. After a few minutes of silence on Maya's end, Lucas looked up at her, slightly concerned.

"You sure? You've been really quiet since your mom went to bed."

She hesitated, squeezing her eyes shut briefly and giving herself a shake. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I think I'm just a little drunk. I need sleep."

"Especially if you're going to deal with Christmas Riley all day tomorrow."

"Very true," Maya snorted, pushing some stray hair out of her face. "Hey, thanks for letting my parents sleep in your room."

"No problem," Lucas shrugged. "It seems like I end up on this couch most nights anyway."

Maya chuckled, walking around to the back of the couch. "Good night, Lucas." She ran her hand softly through his hair, ruffling it on her way past him. She paused at the end of the hall, looking over her shoulder at him. "I'm glad you're coming with us tomorrow. It'll be nice to have some sense of stability there. Holidays at the Matthews' are no joke."

Lucas smiled at her. "You're welcome."

"I didn't say thank you,"

"I know." He looked at her and held her gaze, his expression soft. "You don't need to."

She smiled in return, looking visibly relieved. "Merry Christmas, Lucas."

"Merry Christmas." Lucas replied, watching as she turned and headed to her room. When he heard her door close, he let out a sigh.

Christmas with the Matthews. With Cory and Topanga. And Riley and Farkle. And Maya… and Josh.

Great.

(A/N: Ugh, okay, I apparently can't help myself with ending chapters on the couch/in the living room. I'm working on it, I promise.)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi! I am SO sorry this has taken so long to get back to, but here it finally is. I have plans for this story, and I can't wait to really get into it here in the next few chapters. I plan on setting aside time to write every day, so hopefully I'll be updating more regularly from now on. So, with that, I hope you like this chapter! I managed not to end it on the couch in Maya's apartment, so I'm already pretty satisfied with it :D Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Do not own GMW.

" _Maya… Maaayaaaah…"_

Maya groaned into her pillow, trying to shut out the voice floating into her bedroom. Surely it was the crack of dawn.

"Maya!"

Her eyes flew open as she woke fully with a start. She quickly squeezed them shut again, blocking out the bright sunlight flooding in through her window. "Nnngghhh," she groaned again, willing herself back to unconsciousness.

It didn't work.

"Merry Christmas baby girl!" Maya opened one eye, watching her mother tiptoe carefully through her messy room toward her bed. "I know you're feeling rough but I already let you sleep until 10:30, and you need to get ready to head to the Matthews'." Maya sighed, rolling over onto her back and rubbing her hands over her face. Finally, she opened her eyes again timidly and focused on Katy, who was sitting on the bed near Maya's knees. "Do you need me to find you some aspirin? You look terrible."

"Gee, thanks Mom." Maya croaked, pushing herself up on her elbows. She swayed slightly as the room came into focus, her head pounding dully. It wasn't the worst hangover she'd ever had, but Maya was definitely regretting polishing off that second bottle of wine the night before. "And no, I'm good on the aspirin."

"Are you sure?" Katy asked, looking concerned as she watched Maya stretch her arms over her head. "I only had a couple glasses last night and even my head hurt this morning."

Maya brought her arms down from her stretch and, without looking, reached for her bedside table. Her fingers instantly found the two pills sitting there, next to a glass of water. She threw them back and drained the glass, soothing her parched throat. When she finished, she grinned at Katy. "I'm sure. I'm good."

A funny look swept across Katy's face, briefly, before she smiled and patted Maya's leg affectionately. "I'm glad someone takes care of you when your mama's not here to do it." She stood up, making her way to the door. "Get up and take a shower; you'll feel better. And Shawn made waffles."

As if on cue, Maya's stomach growled. She pressed her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply.

 _Today's the day,_ she thought. _Merry fucking Christmas._

She stood up, wobbling slightly, and headed to the bathroom, hoping the hot water would clear her head enough to deal with this day. She sighed.

 _I can't wait to get this over with._

She pushed open the bathroom door and found herself face to face with a soaking wet Lucas, fresh out of the shower. She jumped, gasping. "Ah, shit! Sorrysorry-"

"Maya!" Lucas said loudly, grabbing her shoulder as she started to back out of the room. "It's ok, I'm decent. I'm wearing a towel."

Maya opened one eye, peeking. He was right; this was nothing Maya hadn't seen a thousand times in the years she'd known Lucas. Especially since they'd moved in together. Although she wouldn't exactly use the word _decent_ to describe the way he looked right now, she definitely shouldn't have been bothered by it. And yet she felt her face flush, and quickly blamed the humid heat of the small bathroom.

The quickened heart rate though, she didn't have an excuse for.

Snapping out of it, she locked her eyes on Lucas's face and cleared her throat. "Well, are you done?"

"No, I still have to brush my teeth." Lucas ran a hand through his wet hair, flicking drops of moisture everywhere.

"Well," Maya huffed, bewildered by her lack of brain power at the moment. _Some hangover,_ she thought. "Hurry up."

Lucas cracked a grin, his eyes lingering on hers for a beat too long before turning to the sink and grabbing his toothbrush. Maya leaned against the bathroom wall, arms crossed, looking anywhere she possibly could that wasn't Lucas's toned shoulders and back… or arms, for that matter. Either Lucas was taking his time, or Maya was incredibly anxious for him to get his shirtless self out of the bathroom.

She decided on the former. When Lucas finally spat into the sink and wiped his mouth with a towel, she fixed him with a look of exasperation.

"What?" He laughed, giving her a cheeky grin. "I'm not allowed to shower and brush my teeth after a morning run? While _somebody_ decided to spend the morning sleeping off a hangover?"

Maya opened her mouth, and found herself with no response. _Damn it._ She gave up and put her hands on his chest, regretting the decision immediately, and pushed him toward the door. He went, but not before looking smugly over his shoulder at her on his way out.

"You're welcome by the way,"

"I'm too hungover for this right now Sundance."

She shut the door in his face, falling against it when it closed with a sigh.

 _I am_ so _not ready for this day._

(A/N: Hey so I still don't know how to break between sections so…)

Maya clutched the pole on the subway, too nervous to sit still even though there were available seats. Her mother and Shawn sat just to her left, with Lucas standing beside her, holding the same pole. Not for the first (or second) time that day, she was grateful for his presence. He wasn't saying anything, but she was glad for it. Her lukewarm shower had only done so much to clear her head, though the coffee and waffle she'd nibbled on had helped some. She was glad just to have him stand by her side, reassuringly. She knew he didn't know why she was in a funk, exactly, but he knew she needed him nearby, and so he was. She managed a small smile, though her face was hidden by her hair, the knots in her stomach loosening ever so slightly.

She hadn't gotten much thinking done the night before, at least after she'd started drinking. Her conversation with her mother still played on a loop in her head, crystal clear despite her hangover.

The ride to the Matthews' was unmercifully short, and before she was ready Maya was walking up the stairs out of the subway and into the bitter Christmas Day air, flanked by Lucas and her parents. It was the kind of cold that made it hard to breathe, frozen air sticking in Maya's throat almost instantly. They bent their heads and walked quickly in the direction of Riley's apartment. By the time they arrived at the front door, Maya was almost looking forward to going inside, if only to relieve herself from the cold.

They entered without too much fanfare, as the nature of Matthews Family Christmases had changed in recent years. Auggie – _August,_ she corrected herself – was in high school, a lowly freshman. But he was firmly past the childhood stage of losing it over Christmas, and so the rest of the family had adjusted accordingly. Their grandparents, Amy and Alan, usually didn't make the trip to New York for Christmas anymore. They were getting older, and Cory and Topanga had decided a few years earlier that they and the kids would visit them for the New Year so they didn't have to travel. Riley's enthusiasm for Christmas, on the other hand, had never really dimmed, but Maya supposed that was to be expected.

Maya scanned the room quickly, a smile working itself across her face as loving, familiar faces smiled back at her. Cory had met them at the door, as he always did when Shawn visited. Even though Shawn had lived solely in New York for the better part of a decade, Cory's enthusiasm for Shawn's presence had never faded, either. Like father, like daughter. Chuckling slightly, she moved into the kitchen where she had spotted Riley and Farkle sitting at the table. Josh didn't seem to have arrived yet, and Maya felt herself breathing a soft sigh of relief.

She needed to get a grip if she was going to make it through the presents. Her stomach clenched again at the thought as she surveyed the assorted snacks spread on the table.

Riley was practically bursting at the seams when Maya and Lucas finally sat down. She wiggled in her seat, beaming. "Merry Christmas you guys!"

Maya and Lucas exchanged amused grins as they responded.

"Merry Christmas, guys,"

"Merry Christmas, Riles." Maya reached over the table and hugged her best friend. When Riley sat back up, she was still smiling from ear to ear. "Just let it out, honey."

Riley didn't hesitate. "I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" She near shouted, although the only one in the room who seemed to notice was Farkle, who flinched slightly, his hand coming up to cover his ear. Riley took a few deep breaths, calming herself down. Still, the infectious smile remained, and Maya felt herself relaxing for the first time all day. This was home, after all.

Of course, Maya had had Christmases her whole life with her mother and father, then just her mother, and then with Katy and Shawn. She adored the Christmas traditions that had been incorporated into their family since Shawn had joined them, but Maya had _never_ missed a Christmas with the Matthews. Since she was seven years old, every Christmas Day had been spent in this apartment with her second family.

At that moment, Maya decided not to allow herself to stress about Josh anymore. She was with her best friends and her family on Christmas. Whatever happened with Josh later on, happened, she reasoned, and worrying about it now wouldn't change anything.

As she felt her appetite returning, she also felt Lucas's gaze on her face from his seat beside her on the bench. She glanced at him as she reached for a sugar cookie. He raised his eyebrows questioningly, saying nothing. She responded with a bite of her cookie and a warm smile, which he returned instantly.

After a while of snacking and chatting about nothing with her friends, the front door opened. Maya couldn't help but spin around to look, despite her promise to herself earlier. But it wasn't Josh who walked through the door, but Ava Morgenstern, Auggie's – she would never be able to call him August, she was sure – longtime girlfriend. It still boggled Maya's mind that they'd lasted this long; they'd gone from being best friends as children to middle school and now high school sweethearts. But she had to admit, besides the legendary Cory and Topanga, Maya didn't know a more stable couple.

She barely had time to catch her breath from the relief when the inevitable happened and Josh _actually_ walked in, before Ava had even managed to close the door. When her eyes made it to his handsome face, she felt herself smile slightly, despite her nervousness. He smiled back at her, winking as he moved to hug his older brother and sister-in-law. He was a sight for sore eyes, as he always was, in his deep red form-fitting sweater. He had barely been in the room for thirty seconds and Maya was already having trouble concentrating. She shook her head lightly and got up to meet him across the room.

"Hey, gorgeous," he greeted her in a quiet voice, tipping her chin upward with his finger to kiss her. He pulled back and smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Maya replied, looking up through her lashes at him, the smile on her face genuine. What had she been so worried about? Josh was a fairly laid-back guy. Surely he hadn't gone over the top while choosing her Christmas present. Come to think of it, Maya had never even mentioned anything she might've wanted, and suddenly she was sure that his present would be as lackluster as hers, and they would laugh about it later. In her apartment, with glasses of wine…

Maya was snapped from her train of thought as Josh pulled away from her to hug Riley, who'd come to greet him. Fighting the blush she felt rising to her cheeks, she glanced around the room and instantly wished she hadn't.

Lucas was watching her, though he turned back to Farkle when she saw him. His expression had been carefully guarded, and Maya couldn't quite figure out what about it bothered her. But when she felt Josh's arm snake around her waist, she steeled herself. _Alright,_ she thought. _Let's get on with this._

Maya nudged Riley lightly in the ribs and made eye contact with her. Riley nodded ever so slightly and clapped her hands.

"Okay, everyone! Time for presents!"

There was a smattering of laughs from the room, heads shaking in amusement. Christmas Riley was in full force.

Everyone gathered in the living room. There were only a few presents to be given, since Riley and Auggie had exchanged gifts with their parents already, as had Maya with her own. Katy and Shawn had given Maya gift cards, which were her actual favorite gift. Everyone always said they were a copout, for when you couldn't come up with a good enough gift, but Maya loved them. Thanks to her parents, she would have enough coffee, burritos, art supplies and music to last her at least through the semester.

Maya handed over the gift cards she and Lucas had gone in on for Auggie, and the bottle of vintage merlot they had brought for Cory and Topanga. Josh handed Riley a medium sized square box, which she tore into with the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old. Inside was a cosplay-worthy costume of Riley's favorite Disney princess: Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Riley squealed so loudly and then suddenly stopped making any noise at all, and Maya actually felt a flicker of alarm before Riley sat up with her hand over her mouth, happy tears threatening to spill over. Maya laughed as Riley fell over herself thanking her uncle profusely, babbling about how excited she was to wear the costume at Disneyland. Maya was delighted that Riley seemed to be having the best Christmas of her life, though she was simultaneously nervous again; Josh had gone kind of overboard for Riley's gift, who was to say he hadn't done the same for Maya? She swallowed hard as she realized it was their turn. Wanting more than anything to just get through this moment, she ignored the stares of the entire room (and the burning of her cheeks) and thrust her small gift into Josh's unsuspecting hands.

"Here," she muttered, tucking hair behind her ear as she forced herself to look him in the face. "It's not much, but I told you I couldn't think of anything…"

"And _I_ told you not to get me anything, Maya," Josh was smiling as he neatly removed the wrapping paper. He looked down at the action movie DVD and his favorite cologne. "But you couldn't have done better. This is great, babe. Thank you." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek and she felt herself regaining her composure, smiling back at him. She knew for a fact that her gift was lame, but maybe her mother was right; all that mattered was finding something he would enjoy. She'd done that, at least.

Still smiling, Josh put his presents on the coffee table and turned to face Maya on the couch. He started to reach into his back pocket and Maya could have sworn all the air went out of the room. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears and she was on the verge of hyperventilating as she watched him with wide eyes.

 _Please don't be a ring, please don't be a ring, please don't…_

(A/N: Awkward POV change! Seriously someone tell me how to do this.)

 _Please don't be a ring, please don't…_

Lucas found himself staring, horrified but transfixed, at Maya and Josh. In the last few moments, he had figured out what had been bothering Maya, he thought. Though he wasn't sure why having a not-so-great Christmas present had inspired her to drink an entire bottle of wine on Christmas Eve, but Maya was still wild at heart. It was one of the things he loved about her.

Truthfully, Lucas knew how he felt about Maya Hart. He had known since their junior year of high school that she was the one person in his life he absolutely could not live without. He knew that she was beautiful, and always had been. And he knew, as she was the only one who could get through to him after his injury in high school, that he was a goner. When the realization had hit him, it was not only realizing that he loved her. It was realizing that he had _been_ in love with her all this time, and had never understood what those feelings meant.

But almost immediately following his epiphany, Lucas had understood with crushing clarity that there was nothing he could do about it. At the time, Maya had been seeing someone else, a senior at their school, and ever since the torturous "triangle" he'd endured involving her and Riley in their freshman year, Maya had never again showed any interest in Lucas besides friendship. And so Lucas swallowed his feelings, and gone about every day since just as he had before: being the best friend to Maya he could possibly be. Because among the many things he knew about Maya Hart, he knew that he could not lose her. Not now, not ever.

And so it was with a stomach made of stone and a lump the size of a football in his throat that Lucas watched Maya's longtime crush, and now boyfriend, reach into his back pocket to retrieve her Christmas gift, and Lucas was afraid the floor would drop out any second.

Finally, Josh had found whatever he was searching for and pulled it out, holding it out to Maya. Lucas's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he watched her look at it, then back to Josh.

"Josh… What is this?" Her voice sounded breathless.

Josh only smiled back. "Open it."

Lucas reluctantly allowed himself to actually look at the item in Maya's hand, and his breath came out all at once as he realized she was not holding a jewelry box, but an envelope. He flashed back to their Christmas party, when Farkle had given Riley her tickets to California. His heartrate began to slow, if only slightly, as he realized Maya would not be getting engaged today.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean this wouldn't be excruciating to sit through.

He watched tensely as Maya slid her finger along the back of the envelope and opened it. She first pulled out a credit card, or what looked like one. She frowned, looking to Josh for an explanation.

"It's a gift card," Josh said, a sly smile on his face. Lucas forced himself to look only at Maya. "For your upcoming shopping spree."

"Why am I going on a shopping spree?"

"Well, I imagine you'll need some new clothes for the trip."

"What trip?"

"For God's sake," Riley interrupted, looking frantically between Josh and Maya. "Just look back in the envelope!"

"Yeah, we're dyin' here!" Cory chimed in from behind the sofa, mouth stuffed with a cookie. Lucas snorted in spite of himself and focused his attention back on Maya.

She reached back into the envelope and pulled out two large tickets. Lucas's stomach sank as he fought to hold onto the relief that it wasn't an engagement ring.

 _A romantic getaway isn't much better,_ he thought glumly, before willing the thought away. Maya was his best friend, he reminded himself. A grown woman with a boyfriend who was _not_ him, and he had absolutely no right to be upset that she would be going on vacation with said boyfriend. He knew this, and yet he still couldn't help the empty feeling that had replaced the stone in his stomach.

Maya reacted with much fewer theatrics than Riley had, however. In fact, if Lucas hadn't known better, he could've sworn she looked… nervous? Terrified? He didn't get a good read on her expression before she forced it away, replacing it with a tentative smile. "We're going to… New Orleans?" She looked back down at the tickets again, genuine excitement beginning to show in her eyes. "Really?" She questioned, her voice quiet.

"You got it, kid." Josh laughed softly, giving her a moment to process. "You and me, spring break in The Big Easy."

Maya seemed stunned into silence, and Riley piped up to draw the attention away. "With a new wardrobe, to boot!"

Riley's comment drew a few chuckles and coaxed the room out of the intense atmosphere it had fallen into. Lucas was sure he wasn't the only one in the room who'd thought Josh had been going for a ring. Maya hugged Josh tightly, and Lucas caught her eye over his shoulder. She held eye contact only a brief second before looking away, searching for her mother. Lucas followed her gaze, confused by the – slightly sad? – expression Katy wore. Convinced that he had not the slightest clue what was going on in the room around him, Lucas found himself edging out of the living room and toward the kitchen. He felt Farkle watching him as he pulled open the door to the refrigerator, but he ignored him as he helped himself to a beer. Lucas was sure he wouldn't get through the rest of this day without it.

He sighed as he twisted off the bottle cap, chancing a glance back at the party. He saw Cory and Topanga speaking quietly with Katy and Shawn, Riley finding her way back to Farkle and Maya and Josh still sitting intimately on the couch together, excitedly planning their trip. Taking a breath, Lucas tipped the bottle up and drank.

 _Happy freakin' holidays._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello! I've finally got a computer, so hopefully that makes writing a bit easier. Not much else to say except I hope you enjoy it and thank you all for reading and reviewing! It makes my day.

Also, I apologize if the page breaks between sections don't work. I know it can throw you off a bit when you're reading it, but hopefully the changes in scene will be a good enough indicator.

Disclaimer: Do not own.

"Here you go baby girl,"

Maya looked up at her mother absently, snapping out of a thought. She took the steaming latte from Katy with a smile. "Thanks, Mom." She was sitting in one of the comfy chairs by the window in Topanga's, and had been gazing outside dreamily.

"That's on the house," Katy said in a teasing manner, though her tone didn't match the slight concern on her face as she looked at her daughter. "But I expect a big tip."

Maya snorted, but didn't speak. Katy allowed her concern to slip into her voice. "Everything ok, kiddo?"

Maya sighed in response, blowing lightly on her drink to buy herself some time to answer. "I guess," she finally spoke, not meeting Katy's eyes. "I've just been thinking."

Katy said nothing, waiting for Maya to continue. Maya hesitated a moment, then sighed again, this time in defeat. "About what we talked about on Christmas Eve. About Josh."

Katy kept her expression passive as she nodded knowingly and sat down in the chair next to Maya. "I thought you might be," she admitted, trying not to push her daughter too much, and risk her clamming up. "After that gift he got you…" She trailed off.

"Yeah, _that_ gift," Maya huffed out, setting her latte down a little too roughly, wincing when the hot liquid spilled over the edge and burned her fingers. "I mean, it's insane, right? That's not just me?"

"Well it's not _insane_ , per se, but a bit extravagant, sure."

"I mean," Maya continued, her eyes out the window again. "Farkle did get Riley a trip to Disneyland for Christmas so, I guess it's not that crazy."

 _But Farkle and Riley have been together much longer, and are probably getting married one day_. She thought, unwilling to voice it just yet. Maya noticed her mother had been silent for a moment and she looked at her expectantly. "Well? Where's your great, motherly wisdom when I need it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can never tell when you actually want my input," Katy replied dryly, though she was smiling. "I don't think you're really worried about how big, or expensive, or over the top the trip is. I think you're nervous about spending that much time alone with Josh, in an unfamiliar place. It'll be just the two of you for, really, the first time."

Maya blinked. She had been thinking about this exact thing since the moment Josh had said the words "The Big Easy," but she hadn't been able to put her finger on the source of her unease until it came tumbling out of her mother's mouth. She didn't know what to think of not having Riley or Lucas around for almost an entire week. She hadn't been able to imagine seeing _only_ Josh, every day, for that long. She waited for Katy to continue.

"I mean, it's New Orleans so things will be going on all around you. It will definitely be a lot of fun, Maya. But when it comes down to it, you're with Josh and only Josh from the minute you leave until the minute you get back. I think you're afraid of feeling-"

"Trapped." Maya said bluntly, finishing Katy's thought for her. She took a large gulp of her latte, wincing again when she realized it still wasn't cool enough. "That's exactly it." She was preparing to ask her mother what she should do, but the words died in her throat when Riley walked through the door of the café.

Riley's eyes scanned the room and found Maya and Katy quickly, and she smiled, bouncing over to them. Katy vacated her seat with a discreet pat of Maya's hand and a silent look that promised they would finish this conversation, sometime. Maya offered her mother a quick smile before Riley took the seat next to her.

"Are you ready?" Riley asked her, an excited grin already beginning to spread across her face. "I've only got a couple of hours before we leave for Philadelphia."

It was New Year's Eve day, which meant the Matthews' would be traveling out of state to visit their grandparents, or parents in Cory and Josh's cases. Maya had promised Riley they could go shopping for their spring break trips before New Year's, and the time had finally come. Fresh on the heels of a mini revelation, however, Maya found she wasn't exactly in the mood to shop.

But she couldn't put it off any longer, and Riley's puppy dog eyes were doing unfair things to her conscience, so she plastered a convincing smile on her face and nodded, putting the lid on her coffee cup. "Yeah, let's go."

An hour later, Maya lazily flicked through the countless brightly colored bikinis for sale in a somewhat upscale shop. So far she hadn't found anything that was her style, and frankly everything they'd seen was either overpriced, ugly, or both. She sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, giving up and finding Riley by the shoes. She fell onto one of the hard benches, looking up through her lashes at Riley.

"Riles, I can't get into this."

"Why not?" Riley asked absently, inspecting a pair of heels that would send her towering over her boyfriend.

"I dunno," Maya mumbled. "It's so far away still, and it doesn't feel real yet. I can't imagine that it's actually happening." It wasn't technically a lie. Maya had wanted to visit New Orleans for as long as she could remember. She had a weakness for old cities rich in culture, art, and music. She'd always wanted to visit Europe for the same reason. But the idea that she would soon be in one of those cities still seemed surreal.

"Weeellllll," Riley drew the word out, setting the shoe down and eyeing her own shopping bags. "You haven't bought anything at all yet. You have to buy _something_ before I leave." She paused a moment, then her eyes sparkled in a way Maya wasn't sure she liked. "You know what isn't far away?"

"What?"

"The football game Lucas is taking you to."

Maya gasped. She had almost forgotten. The Cowboys were to play her team tomorrow, on New Year's Day. Suddenly, she felt reenergized and she jumped up from her seat. She could feel the genuine smile taking over her features as she grabbed Riley's hand.

"Where are we going?" Riley laughed, hastily grabbing her bags as she followed her.

"Well, I need a new hat to go with my new jersey for the game, don't I?"

Maya had already turned to the leave the store, and missed the knowing grin Riley wore as she called after her, "Might as well get some new gloves and a scarf, too."

Riley had taken Maya home after their shopping trip, where Josh had been waiting to say goodbye to Maya before they left for the evening. After a quick exchange, Maya retired to her room to wind down. It was still fairly early, not even dinnertime yet, but she felt exhausted. Tossing her one shopping bag on her chair, she flopped onto her back on her bed and let out possibly the biggest sigh of the day.

She didn't know where to begin with how she was feeling. If she had to choose, confused was definitely the most accurate. She did genuinely like Josh. He was handsome, intelligent, funny, and witty. He engaged her in conversations she'd never had with any of her friends, and that was always intriguing. They had an easy chemistry that allowed her to feel comfortable with him most of the time. But the thought of spending her entire spring break, isolated with him, added to the thoughts the conversation with her mother had stirred up, and confused was definitely the word.

Maya tried to reason with herself, throwing an arm over her eyes and trying to concentrate. Maybe she and Josh hadn't been going out as long as Riley and Farkle. And maybe their relationships were entirely different, in fundamental ways. Riley and Farkle were clearly in it for the long haul, and Maya honestly couldn't imagine either of them with anyone else. She couldn't say she felt the same about her relationship with Josh. But was that really such a bad thing?

Maya had never pictured herself as someone who would settle down early, and that was always perfectly fine with her. Maybe she needed to stop comparing her relationship to someone else's and focus on the good things she _did_ have. She wasn't so sure she was ready for that type of relationship, anyway. The kind where you share every intimate moment of your day. Living with someone to the point where you have routines and a rhythm where everything just works, but they're always there. Sleeping next to each other every night and waking up together every. Single. Day. Maya moved her arm and tentatively peeked open one eye.

What was wrong with a relationship that was light-hearted and fun? No big, scary commitments. Respecting each other's need for personal space and friends. It wasn't like Josh had asked her to move in, right? They were just going to take a vacation together. Lots of people did that, even people who weren't dating. Friends took vacations together all the time, so why couldn't she enjoy New Orleans, of all places, with her incredibly hot boyfriend? The knot in her stomach eased as she thought it through.

Opening both eyes, Maya allowed herself a small grin. If this was the worst of her problems, she reasoned, she was doing just fine.

Maya had just settled onto their couch, a fuzzy blanket over her to fight the winter chill, when she heard Lucas arrive with their dinner. They had agreed that they wouldn't be going out this New Year's, since they wanted to be up early to tailgate before the game the next day. Riley and Farkle were in Philadelphia, and Zay had been dragged to Times Square to watch the ball drop. Miranda was from Illinois, so they were squeezed shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers while Maya and Lucas had planned a night of Chinese food, college football, and beer. She didn't envy them at all.

Lucas's phone buzzed on the table as Maya set her food down. She picked up her beer, glancing at the screen. "It's a text from Zay."

"What's it say?" Lucas replied around a mouth full of egg roll, not taking his eyes off the TV. Maya picked up his phone and sat back into the couch, opening the message, and immediately cracked up when she saw the photo attached. Her laugh caught Lucas's attention, who looked at his phone and joined her, snickering. "How does he end up getting suckered into going to Times Square _every year_?"

Maya giggled at the picture of Zay, visibly uncomfortable as he was pressed in on all sides by drunk strangers. His expression clearly screamed 'Help me,' but all Lucas and Maya could do was laugh. "Because he's always dating some new girl who's from out of state and has never been before. It's his own fault."

Their laughter died down as the game they had been watching came to a close. Maya glanced back at Lucas's phone. It was 11:45. Maya always tried not to get too hung up on traditions and superstitions, but she had always found something special about New Year's. Even if everyone woke up on January 1st, the same person they had been just the day before, it still felt different. Like a blank canvas. And so even though she hadn't always seen the ball drop at midnight, it seemed necessary to do _something_.

Of course, the year before had been her first New Year's with Josh, and they had, predictably, kissed at midnight. It had been nice, although it was not the first time she had had someone to kiss. And it hadn't felt particularly different, other than the butterflies that lingered, due to finally dating the elusive Uncle Boing. But it had been nice, nonetheless. In fact, if not for the football game, she would be in Philadelphia right now, with the rest of the Matthews'.

She realized she wouldn't be kissing anyone at midnight, and the thought made her frown. She wanted to do something other than sit on the couch and watch the ball drop on TV. She found her eyes drawn to the window, and an idea struck her. She nudged Lucas none too gently.

"Hey."

"Ow," he complained, looking at her and rubbing his bicep. "What?"

"Let's do something."

"I thought you didn't wanna go out," Lucas glanced at his phone. "It's almost midnight already."

"No, I mean," she huffed, already standing up and searching for her coat. "Let's go up on the roof."

Lucas's eyebrows knit together. "The roof?" She only nodded in response, and he felt himself grinning softly in spite of himself. He had long ago given up trying to predict her.

They had never been on the roof of their building, but found it easily enough. A few concrete staircases, and a couple of stumbles and tipsy giggles later, they walked onto an open, mostly empty roof much like the one they had spent New Year's on many years before. The memory jumped into Lucas's mind immediately.

He had mixed emotions about that New Year's night. It was the first time he'd spent an evening almost entirely with Maya, and their conversation on the rooftop before midnight had caused the butterflies he always had around her to feel as if they were flying out of his stomach and up through his throat. He'd been so nervous, but the sweet words and sweeter smile she'd given him had made him so happy, he'd ignored the nerves. But the night had not ended that way; it had ended on a cold bench, between Maya and Riley, thrown right back into a "triangle" he'd really never wanted.

So much potential, gone so fast. He decided not to mention it as they neared the edge of the roof, taking careful looks down at the city below.

"Do you remember the first New Year's we spent together?" Maya's question came as a surprise, to say the least. His green eyes snapped to her, but she was looking away from him, out into the bright lights the city offered.

"Of course," he replied, a bit stiffly. He didn't know what to say, so he waited for her to speak, watching her long hair move softly in the chilly wind.

"I was so nervous," she confessed, a surprised giggle escaping her as she turned to look at him. "It's weird to think that now, isn't it?"

Lucas cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"That I could ever be nervous around you." Maya replied easily, gesturing to him with an open hand. "I'd never feel that way now."

"Really, never?" He replied, allowing a bit of skepticism to slip into his voice. He grinned at her as she frowned at him in response, clearly confused. He considered holding eye contact for his next words, but found he didn't have the courage. He held her eyes for a beat longer, then looked away before he spoke again. "Even when you walked in on me in a towel the other day?"

Maya sputtered. "I- what-"

He chuckled at her reaction. "You seemed a bit nervous then," His curiosity got the better of him and he chanced a look at her, his smile widening. "You seem a bit nervous now, in fact."

Maya bit down a little too hard on her lip as she felt her face flush and she struggled to get a grip on herself. How did he keep catching her at a loss for words? Normally a few beers would improve her snappy wit, not diminish it. Although, she reminded herself, she hadn't been drinking the other day. Hungover, yes. She decided that was close enough. Willing her features to cooperate with her false confidence, she raised her eyes to look him rebelliously in the face, putting on a trademark smirk.

"And why would seeing you without a shirt-"

"In a towel-"

"make me even the slightest-"

"Fresh out of the shower, no less-" he taunted, not breaking eye contact with her now as he sipped his beer.

"-bit nervous, Huckleberry?" She finally finished, poking him in the chest with her finger. They were so close, she could see the slight stubble on his chin as she stared up at him, the challenge written clearly on her face.

Alcohol may not have helped her language skills, but she certainly felt pretty daring at the moment.

Lucas was quiet for a beat, regarding her with unreadable eyes. He seemed to make a decision and finally answered, "It shouldn't, I suppose."

Her eyebrows rose as she waited for him to continue, but he didn't. He didn't need to, really. The unspoken end of his sentence hung in the air anyway.

 _So why did it make me nervous?_ She thought reluctantly, wondering if "nervous" was even the right word for how she had felt.

The energy between them felt odd. A moment ago they had been teasing each other, as they often did. They antagonized each other, always in a playful way, but neither could back down from a challenge. Now, though, it felt as though they were on the edge of something. Something she wasn't sure she wanted to explore; unfamiliar territory. It felt new, and different, and those were not words she was used to associating with Lucas Friar. Or maybe it felt nostalgic, pulling her back to those confusing days in middle school and high school. She needed something, anything, to break the tension in the air, so she pulled out her phone to check the time.

Ignoring the small voice in her head calling her a coward, she spoke in a slightly hoarse voice. "It's a couple of minutes to midnight."

Lucas finally dragged his eyes away from her, missing her sigh of relief as he looked out into the night sky. It wasn't as cold as it had been recently, which he hoped would continue the next day.

He knew she'd felt the strange air of their conversation a moment ago and had dropped the subject. He knew he, too, would probably have backed down soon anyway. Lucas respected Maya, and the fact that she was in a relationship, but sometimes he realized too late that he had been flirting with her. It was just too easy to get carried away sometimes, but he usually was able to reign himself in. And although he was dangerously close to stepping over that line again, he couldn't help but repeat the words to her she'd said to him, on another rooftop, so many years ago.

"I'm glad you're standing here."

Maya found she didn't know what to say to that, so they ticked down the seconds left until midnight in silence. When the inevitable fireworks lit up the sky, Lucas leaned down and kissed Maya's forehead innocently. She fought the shiver that went down her spine and closed her eyes.

"Happy New Year," he said quietly.

"Happy New Year, Lucas."

Maya woke the next day to her alarm, telling her to get her ass out of bed and take a shower if she wanted to look cute for the game. As she sat up, yawning, and checked her phone, she realized she had missed a text from Josh around midnight, wishing her a happy new year. She typed a quick reply and got out of bed, heading for the hallway.

She lingered there a moment to be absolutely sure Lucas wasn't in the bathroom, before heading in to get ready. As she turned on the water, she realized she hadn't brought in any clothes, shrugging when she remembered she could just run to her room after she finished. But as she adjusted the heat, a thought materialized before she could stop it.

She wasn't sure why, but she felt like having a little revenge on Lucas for the things he had said the night before. He thought _she_ had reacted strangely when faced with an unexpected towel-clad Lucas? She would show him just how easy it was to be flustered and lost for words. Deciding not to think too much into it, she giggled quietly to herself and hopped in.

She showered quickly, eager to see the look on his face. She towel dried her hair and combed it, before making sure her towel was secure and heading out the door. Maya peeked into the living room before realizing Lucas would obviously be in the kitchen, making himself breakfast. She took one last breath before she steeled her face into a look of indifference, and walked in.

His back was to her as he sat at the kitchen table with his laptop, and she fought the disappointment. She headed for the coffee machine as nonchalantly as she could. "Hope you're ready to watch your boys choke today, Huckleberry." Maya kept her voice casual, but she watched him intently as she turned to face him, raising her mug to her lips.

Lucas snorted, turning around as he spoke. "The real tragedy is this is your first NFL game, and you've got to watch your team lo-lose," He stuttered at the end of his retort, his breath catching in the back of his throat as he looked at her. He cleared his throat, trying to cover up his mistake, but by the satisfied look on her face, he'd been caught. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her this way, but she hardly made a habit of _walking around the damn house_ in a towel, for God's sake.

He'd been set up.

"Wanna bet?" She drawled, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

"Oh yeah?" Lucas could hear warning bells going off in his head, but as he'd found himself doing recently, he ignored them. She was trying to throw him off, and he wasn't going to have it. He stood and walked toward her slowly. "What are the stakes?"

Maya's eyes widened a fraction as he stalked closer; she hadn't expected this reaction. But she'd started this battle, and she was determined to win it. "No money."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "So, if the Cowboys win-"

"Not gonna happen-"

"I choose where we eat and you pay, for an entire week." He stepped closer. She narrowed her eyes.

"All right," she growled, slowly looking him up and down. When her eyes reached his face again, he was nearly as close as he'd been last night on the roof. She squared her shoulders and smiled sweetly up at him. "But if the Giants win, we celebrate however I want for the rest of the day-"

"That's it? That's all you can think-"

" _And_ ," she continued, taking a small step closer. Their chests were touching now, but she had no intention of backing down. "For an entire day, we do whatever I want. No questions asked, and you _have_ to do it." She paused. "Date to be determined at a later time."

"Fine," Lucas managed, desperate to back away a few inches. He had overestimated his bravery, and he was certain she could hear his heart pounding from her proximity. In a _towel_. Jesus.

"Fine," She echoed, taking another sip of her coffee and shooting him a faux innocent look. She turned to head back to her room, calling over her shoulder as she went, "Y'know, I see why you like to hang out in just a towel. I might start doing it more often." She paused at the door to glance back at him with a shrug. "It's pretty comfy."

Maya left him in the kitchen, staring after her, mouth hanging open.

 _What the hell just happened?_

Several hours later, Maya was the first of the pair to come stumbling through the front door, drunk laughter filling up the small space of their kitchen. To be completely honest, she was hammered. But she'd had a good reason.

After a couple of hours tailgating before the game, Lucas and Maya spent most of the game drinking, taunting each other, and yelling themselves hoarse. Neither of their teams were making the playoffs this year, but the rivalry was deep and the environment was intoxicating. The Giants had pulled off a win by a last minute field goal, and Maya was fairly certain she was having the best day of her life.

They'd gone out immediately after the game to one of Maya's favorite bars. A hole in the wall with amazing food, and they'd continued drinking; Maya's in celebration, Lucas's in defeat. But they were having such a good time, it was hard for Lucas to feel down for very long.

They made their way to the couch, slowly peeling off their hats, gloves and coats and collapsing once they made it. Fatigue set in almost immediately, and Maya had barely pulled her phone out of her pocket before she felt Lucas's head fall gently on her shoulder, his breathing deep and even.

She chuckled gently. She felt weightless. Free, and happy as she scrolled through her Instagram feed, smiling as she glimpsed an adorable New Year's selfie of Riley with her grandparents. She saw her own photo from hours before, at the game. Maya in her new red jersey and white beanie, complete with two bold, black strokes underneath her eyes and Lucas in his well-worn Cowboys jersey and backwards baseball cap, grinning like fools. She shook her head. How he could make that look so cute, she would never understand.

Maya snapped a quick selfie of him sleeping soundly on her shoulder and posted it, with a caption and series of hashtags she was sure Lucas would give her shit for tomorrow. She checked her texts one more time before putting her phone down and leaning her head back, allowing her own eyes to droop shut.

The last thought before she fell asleep startled her, but her sluggish mind was too far gone to consider what it meant as she drifted off.

She hadn't talked to Josh once the entire day.

(A/N: Yeah, another couch ending.. I hope it doesn't feel repetitive. I'm anxious to keep this going so hopefully I'll update within the week. Thanks for reading!)


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